Ignition
by MABubbles
Summary: A new Selection for Prince Xander has begun. Millions of girls all around the country are starting to sign up. Two of those girls are Cali Fredrick, an Eight, and Lavender Garrano, a Three. These girls are very similar with the fact that they both are fighting for the same thing. But that thing might not be the prince.
1. Chapter 1

**Thank you for clicking on this story and I hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 1

Cali

The wind was running around furiously, like it was trying to win a race. I always paid a lot of attention to the weather, since it told me where I was going to sleep for the night. Usually the weather wasn't too bad in Angeles, it was actually quite nice, but today it seemed angry. Probably at the royal family, they always seemed to make people angry.

Centuries ago, probably like a thousand years or so, Queen America and her husband King Maxon destroyed the caste system and over the years everything settled down. But now, the caste system is up again, because of the oh-so-terrible King Cameron and Queen Hana from about a hundred years ago. So I'm an Eight, ever since my grandfather died from a leg injury working for a bunch of loser Twos. I was bumped down to the lowest caste since I was only a little girl and I didn't have anything or anyone to take care of me. _Great,_ I thought, _another thing that makes me hate the royal family._

I never really, truly, eat. Some people are kind enough to give me food, but I always find a way to help someone else with it. Once I gave a bag of beef jerky I found to a stray dog who was thinned to the bone, another time I gave an apple someone gave me to a little girl on the side of the road. I always feel good afterwards though, not starving, but well.

I watch the cars drive by me as I lean against a light. The light flickers on and off, creating a dark and gloomy glow around the area I'm standing and beyond. I never know what to do with myself. I usually know that I should be looking for food, or finding somewhere to stay, but I am always too... distracted you could say. Yeah distracted, that sounds about right.

Sometimes I just lay my head down for a rest on a bench in front of a store. Sometimes I find a decent alleyway to sleep in, or a small area that won't have bugs crawling in and out of my ear by morning. **(Sorry for that visual image)**

But benches usually sound the most appealing.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be slow tomorrow, with all of the girls gone to send in their forms for the Selection," I hear a man behind me say as the sound of clinking keys fills my ears. _The Selection._

Though I hate the royal family to the moon and back, that thought never left my mind. _The Selection._ I always wondered what it would be like to be in one of those. I stand in the shadow of the palace everyday and I've never wanted to be inside, until now. Until I heard a teenage girl talking on the phone to her mother about the Selection.

 _Stop daydreaming Cali, it's stupid to even imagine something like that. The royal family is terrible, and there is no way you'd ever be lucky enough to get a form,_ I think to myself as I look back at the coffee shop the men just locked up. In front of it sat a small brown bench with metal legs. I stare at it, wondering if I'll get up early enough to dodge the owner's wrath.

 _It's worth a try, isn't it?_

Yeah, I guess it is.

And I go to say goodnight to myself on a broken old bench. Luxury, real comfy.

Lavender

The only thing that was going through my friend's minds at the moment was the sound of a prince asking them to marry him. They were staring at the Selection form, both smiling, both glad to have something so beautiful in their hands.

 _They do realize that the prince probably doesn't even know their alive, right? Part of me whispers to another._

 _I'm not sure they do._

"Hey!" I wave my hand in front of both of their faces. Kelly's eyes pop up to mine and she shakes her head, golden brown hair flopping everywhere, "Sorry, I was just-wow, I can't believe Prince Xander is nineteen already!"

I roll my eyes and wave my hand in front of my other friend Veronica's face. She doesn't move, her eyes not traveling far from the paper as she reads over the whole letter. I clear my throat, hoping to gain some attention from her, but she's just having a grand old party wasting my time.

"Veronica! Veronica seriously I don't think the prince would like _another_ fangirl, he's already got more than a million. I'm sure there are girls in France right now drooling over him!" I say crossing my arms. I never understood this. The prince was an idiot; the whole royal family was a stupid joke, so why did they get so much attention from stupid girls like my two best friends?

"Oh come on Lavender! Don't tell us that you aren't excited too!" Veronica yelps, jumping up and down. I roll my eyes once more, probably for the hundredth time today. Kelly groans, "Oh no Veronica! You've given her a reason to lecture us!"

I do lecture, and I must say, I do an amazing job at it. I _always_ lecture Kelly and Veronica. Their always wrong about something and _I,_ being the terrific historian I am, will always correct them. And whenever they drool over the prince, or say how amazing he is, I have to laugh because, he's not. I'm a _Three,_ and even _I_ know how terrible they are, the whole royal family! Veronica and Kelly don't understand because they live in their old little world, they've never had anyone be a caste under them that they loved. Not like me. I sighed and rubbed my forehead, Veronica was the one who got on my nerves the most. Every day, all she said was, _Oh my goodness Prince Xander is just gorgeous!_ or maybe she'd say something stupid like, _Lavender seriously, their just a bunch of Sixes, why would you care about them?_

Sometimes I just want to throttle her. But I guess friends will be friends and there's nothing I can do about it.

"Lavender please sign up! We'll feel empty without you doing it too! Besides, you probably won't get chosen anyways I mean look at all of these amazing girls here!" Veronica says pointing to a bunch of girls getting ready to turn in their forms. They look like rag dolls dipped in sparkles. One girl's hair is probably higher than the light post, another girl's face has so much blush on that she looks like an apple with eyes. I'm surprised. I haven't even filled out the form yet and they're already rushing for a spot in the mailbox. Poor, poor mailman and cameraman, they have to spend time around a bunch of crazy girls all day.

"I don't think I'm going to sign up, it seems a little crowded," I say but Kelly jumps in, ruining everything.

"Oh don't worry! The crowd will die down, but seriously, there is probably a zero percent chance of you getting in, so just try it out!" Kelly's hands reach for my form, the one I'm holding in my hands. I quickly try to dodge, but she snatches it up and takes out a pen.

"If there's a zero percent chance of me getting in then why do you want me to sign up?" I ask putting my hand on my hips. Veronica rolls her eyes and gives me one of those, isn't-it-obvious looks. She takes my right hand and turns me around to look at the line of girls.

"Look at them, look at _all_ of them, don't they look happy?" She asks.

"No," I answer.

"Wouldn't you like to be happy too?"

"Not really."

"Oh come on Lavender!" She wines and stares at her form. She's all dressed up for the cameraman to take her picture. Of course she doesn't look ridiculous like the other girls here in Hansport. She's wearing a dress that goes down to her knees, because she always wears dresses, even if some of them look like they should be in a second graders classroom rather than outside in the open. Of course she's wearing heels, even though she's five foot eight inches. I look over at Kelly, who is short, only five foot one inch tall, and she's wearing flats. I shake my head and turn my attention back to Veronica and her crazy wardrobe. She's fixing her black bun. She looks mature, but in reality, mature isn't even in her dictionary. She's more like a boy crazy teenage girl rather than mature. I'm the mature one in the group, and Kelly is the sweet one. I guess that's just how every friend group goes. But we don't have a rebel in the group, unless you call me hating the royal family, rebellious. Maybe when Veronica gets into the Selection, which Kelly and I both know will happen since she's strikingly gorgeous, rich, a Two and she has family in France, since she is part French, maybe once she gets into the Selection, she can bring back a rebel to be in our friend group. Because I really would rather have her bring back a rebel girl then a prince.

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lavender

Hansport has never seemed so, _sizeable,_ I guess you could say. It's packed full of young female girls who want to get their Selection form in there before it's too late. I'm in line, sadly, with Kelly. She jumping up and down, holding both of our forms in her hands. She brushes a strand of her hair out of her face and looks at me, "Are you excited?"

"You know... not really," I say and she rolls her eyes and groans, "Come on Lav! Why do you hate the royal family so much?"

 _You know why I hate the royal family!_ I think, anger rising to the surface. Kelly's face instantly turns serious as she puts a hand on my shoulder. I could feel tears boiling in my eyes and I knew they all wanted out. _Does she ever listen to me? Does she even know how hard it is?_ I think and start sobbing I my place. Kelly hugs me, I can feel the stares of strangers around us burn into my back. If I had the strength, I would snap at them, but I don't have the strength, all I can do is cry.

Well, that is until it's our turn to push through the crowd and take our pictures. Kelly carefully hands me my form and steps up to the cameraman, handing him the form that he just slips into a blue bin, a mailbox. Kelly takes a seat on the stool set out for her, fixing her hair and taking out red lipstick from her pocket, applying it onto her lips. I raise an eyebrow at her and she shrugs before putting it back and smiling at the camera.

While she's in the process of getting her picture taken, I search for Veronica, even though it's hard. I weave through the crowd, with my eyes of course since if I left my place a bunch of other girls would take it. She's supposed to be easy to pick out of a crowd with her stunning looks. Not a lot of the women here are as beautiful as Veronica.

I shade my eyes with my hand, wiping away the tears that were still left. _Stop crying Lavender,_ I think to myself, noticing a strand of black hair in the crowd, thinking it's Veronica I call to her. She turns and I realize I've made a mistake. It's not Veronica, but some random person I've never seen in my life. And probably will never see again.

"Lavender! Come on it's your turn!" I hear Kelly squeal as she gets off of the stool and motions for me to get _onto_ the wooden chair. I smile at her and think of how to say thank you to something so simple. I hand my form to the man and he just throws it into the mailbox with everyone else's. I roll my eyes, _jeez, someone's in a bad mood; I'd love to sit on the_ other _side of the camera like him._

"Smile," he says lazily and I give him my brightest, most fake, smile ever. _There,_ I think, getting off of the stool and grinning to myself, _that'll make sure that even if the prince considers me, he won't want me._

Kelly hops over to me and grabs my arm, pulling me out of the crowd. She seems to glow of happiness now, and I don't understand why. Why is she so happy, it's just a stupid Selection, for an even worse prince. _Prince Xander._ His name made me want to throw up my breakfast, which wasn't much since I only ate an apple. Prince Xander was the "perfect" prince. His amazingly "gorgeous" golden brown hair, he "beautiful" bright blue eyes, and don't forget his "handsome" tan. I mean gosh! It wasn't even handsome, it was obvious that he was usually a lot paler then that and he just accidently got a sun burn... all over his body. Whatever! It's not like I care, he's a brat, and I can feel my mind arguing to itself about filling out the form. Regret is already taking over and I'm not even five minutes past putting my form in.

Cali

I wake up to the sound of yelling coming from above me. I slept the night on that stupid old bench and here I was, once more in my life, waking up to the sound of screaming people. I stumble off of the bench, the owner of the store yelling at me. He's probably a middle aged man, a beard, but bald, and tan skin. Just to give you a good picture of the man who is spitting in my face. Gross.

I rush away from the bench and towards the road. _Good, no cars are going by, now run Cali!_ I think to myself, launching across the street and to the other side, where a girl is screaming at her boyfriend because of a piece of paper in her hands. I frown as I look back at the owner; he's going inside, and getting something. Is that a phone? What does he think he's going to do, call the police? I'll be gone by the time they show up.

I stick my tongue out at him and turn around, bumping into the girl and her boyfriend. She yelps and her boyfriend catches her before she falls hard onto the ground. Nobody even bothers trying to help me. The girl looks at him for a second before whispering something like _I'm sorry,_ and throwing the form into the trash bin next to them. I don't even glance at them as I look into the trash can and see a golden envelope that's opened and ripped. I reach in and pull it out, inside is the form, still in perfect condition. She didn't even fill it out.

I smile and look back at her and her boyfriend who are now hugging and I roll my eyes in disgust. _Get a room!_ I think and race past someone to get to an alleyway. With nowhere to go, I sprint towards where a group of girls are standing, waiting to get their pictures taken for the Selection. I squeeze into the group, pretending to be one of them. I lean against a pole, trying to think of what to do next.

 _Should I fill out the form? I mean, I could be a Three; I could get money, right?_ I think but then I really want to punch myself afterwards.

 _You are so blind Cali! If you go into the Selection, you'll have to compete for the prince's love, not just get money and become a new caste!_ Another part of my mind yells at me. I stare at the form in my hands. Simple, all I had to do was fill it out and I'd have a chance at getting money, I'd have a chance at getting a new caste.

But if I filled out the form, that would also mean I'd have a chance of going to the castle, meeting the prince, and fighting for his heart. And I didn't want to do that. Not when I was thinking about joining the Red Winged Rebels, a group of people who want to change something about the country.

 _What do I do?_ I think trying to block out all of the girls around me. They all are talking and laughing and look like a bunch of ghosts with all of the makeup they put on their faces. I can't imagine waking up every day and having to do that. Part of me thinks that it'd be fun, or cool to try, at least for a day. And that settles it.

I look around, seeing that there's a pencil on a small table that's set up near the cameraman. I grab it and write down everything they need to know about me. An Eight, in the Selection. If my mother were here, she'd laugh. The royals would never allow it.

I pause before stepping into line, a bunch of girls staring at me. I'm about to question them, or say something about it, but a realize it's no use. These girls probably have a better chance at getting in then I do. They're all Twos or Threes, in fashionable dresses, and they all _wanted_ to get into the Selection. I only filled the form out because I thought it'd be fun and at least I could change my life if I went through it.

My life was about to change.

In five. Four. Three. Two. One.

The camera snaps a picture of the girl in front of me, and it's my turn.

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you liked the second chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Lavender

I think I was a little surprised that my friends had gotten me to sign up for the Selection, since I was kind of guessing my mother would be the problem here. She was in love with the idea of me becoming a princess, whereas I detested the idea, and never even tried to look at it through her eyes. She was an okay mother, not like she was a jerk or anything, but she just... didn't understand me. Everyone says that though, all teenage girls around the world, but my mother, she was opposite of me. She loved the royal family and I hated it. I don't think there was a time where we shared an idea.

My front door creaked open; I was surprised to notice nobody was home, not my older brother Vincent, not my mother, _or_ my father. I tried to think of places they could be.

Vincent was probably with his friends, or girlfriend, since he seemed to always be with them. My mother was probably out shopping with her own friends, like she doesn't have enough clothing already. And my father was probably at the hospital, working. I was positive I had all of it thought out well until I heard a grumble from upstairs and saw my brother descending towards me. I rolled my eyes when I saw he was still in his pajamas, even though it was almost one o'clock.

I observed the rest of the house, seeing if I was totally wrong and my parents actually _were_ here, in the house with us. But it turned out they weren't, so I relaxed. I didn't think I could take some of my mother's questions. There were way too many for me to answer them all without fainting.

I looked at my brother, who was grabbing grapes from the refrigerator. That was pretty much all he was good for, eating and sleeping and watching TV on occasion. He slumped onto the brown leathered couch that didn't even go with the rest of the living room. But since my mother said it was nice looking and it cost a lot more money, she wanted to keep it. She acted like we were Twos, totally rich and famous, though we were just a bunch of normal Threes, that she didn't want to believe. Before she had become a Three she had been a Four, which was torture for her fashionable soul. She hated getting dirty and working in factories or on farms was not the best partner for that fear.

"Where is Mom?" My brother asked, flipping through a bunch of useless channels until he got to one he liked. I shrugged, even though I was still in the kitchen and he couldn't see me since he was facing the opposite direction. I grabbed a cup of water for myself before rushing upstairs to my room, trying to get away from his annoying vibe. I closed my door and locked it, making sure there was no way for him to get in. I don't even think he'd have enough effort to get in.

I turned around to face my purple walled room. It wasn't big and beautiful like my parents golden walled room with fancy furniture, or messy and crowded like my brothers video game bedroom that was littered with so many posters and little kid toys that he refused to admit he played with when he was bored. My room was plain, with a bed, a desk a chair and my closet. There weren't many knickknacks lining the walls or sitting on my desk, only a few that I never really paid any attention to since they weren't things I liked to collect. Half of the tiny amount of knickknacks came from my mother, when she went away on little trips to New Asia or to France. Others were just things I remembered finding on the ground when I was little, that still amused me today.

The only real thing in my bedroom I marveled at was my microscope that I used to look at plants. I had gathered flowers and plants and other things like that when I was younger and pretended to be a scientist, but it wasn't until I was twelve when I realized that I really had something special, and I really enjoyed pretending to be one, a scientist I mean. I didn't want to be some Twos wife. I wanted to be independent. But my mother couldn't see it.

Cali

My stomach growled at me as I past an outside market area. I paused by a basket of apples, wondering if I could take one and get away with it. I knew I probably wouldn't, the man at the stand was eyeing everyone in the market and kept his chubby rough fingers glued to a broom in case somebody tried to steal something. So I moved onto easier people, who looked as if they could be tricked.

I stopped by a skinny mans stand, staring at his own fruit and the vegetables he had too. He had apples like the man before, but this man's stand was filled with other goodies, not just the same thing. I paused before looking up at the man, who pushed up his glasses and wiggled his mustache around on his face. He wasn't paying attention to anyone, he was only staring at what I think was a phone, but I wasn't sure.

He turned around to grab something and I instantly saw my chance.

I lunged for an apple and grabbed it, rushing away quickly. The man turned around slowly and noticed that I, and an apple, were both gone. He yelled something and everyone seemed to erupt into panic. Jeez, dramatic much? I rushed for cover, but the man had his eyes on me while he tried to keep up. I growled and kept running. I wasn't too far away from an alleyway that nobody would go down when I heard a giant crowd, like bigger than the girls sending in their Selection forms and the market place put together. This crowd was cheering and yelling happy words, though I noticed almost an equal amount of people across the street crossing their arms and rolling their eyes.

I wondered what was going on.

I rushed into the crowd, trying to get away from the man I was positive was still following me. I bumped into people and ducked under things, objects, arms. People glared at me as I passed. The crowd was thick with people and so forced together that nobody would be able to see me in it. I was covered. At the moment.

I looked behind me, trying to see if the mustache man was still hot on my trail, but I couldn't see him anywhere. I guess he gave up and realized that he had just left is whole stand open to the public, who were probably feeding themselves it now. I grinned at the thought and pulled my head to look in front of me, but right when I did, I felt the pressure of a large, strong object in front of me and I fell down. It was somebody's chest.

But when I looked up, I kind of wished that the mustache man would come back to take me to jail.

 **Thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews! Who do you think Cali ran into?!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Cali

I felt the pressure of a large, strong object in front of me and I fell down. It was somebody's chest.

But when I looked up, I kind of wished that the mustache man would come back to take me to jail.

* * *

I bumped into Laurent.

Prince Laurent was the younger brother of Prince Xander, who was having the Selection. His brown hair was neatly brushed to the side and his bright blue eyes searched my face, my body, to see if he had hurt me. I got up, rushing away from him and through the crowd. I could feel his eye burn into the back of my head as I ran through the crowd, bumping people and pushing them out of the way, not even caring that I was being rude and disrespectful. I wondered if that mustache man wanted me back, because I'd be glad to go to jail rather than think about me, and him, the prince, bumping into each other.

I stepped behind a tall and buff man who didn't even notice me because he was trying to look above the head of everyone else to get a glimpse of the prince. The man peered above the others, probably realizing that the prince was speeding right towards where he was standing... or more truly, where I was standing.

 _Why is he following me? Why does he care and why does he want to see me again?_ I thought as I slipped past the tall man again, trying to get out of the crowd. I heard the prince's voice like a small echo among the loud crowd. I think he was telling them to please calm down and leave him alone. _Fat chance that'll ever happen,_ I thought again and sprinted back towards the way I came from, then thought, _I think I'll have a ton of fangirls crowding around me like him if I go back that way._ So I paused, turned around and started going the other way.

It wasn't a few blocks later that I _really_ thought that I was alone and safe from the prince and his people. I sighed, running my hand across my face and trying to calm down.

"Just think Cali, all you have to do is think," I whispered to myself before raising my hand to start moving again. But something caught my hand while it was about to reach the sky. _What the...?_ I whirled around, facing the person who dared to lay a hand on me. The person who dared to _touch_ me.

But I didn't get to say anything to them, because my throat slid shut as if it were closed and going on break for a while. The prince was standing in front of me, gripping my wrist. I don't know why, but I had the urge to fix my hair, even if that was impossible with all of the knots and tangles embedded into my dark locks. I stared at him for a second longer. I realized that he didn't look at lot like his brother or parents. Why would his parents adopt him if he looked nothing like anyone in their family, because I was positive he was five times more handsome then his brother.

 _Wait what did I just say?_ I questioned and my eyes widened. I tried to pull out of his grasp but his hand wasn't becoming less gentle. He knew I'd run away. Typical, I guess. It was really typical to stereotype an Eight.

"So you were just going to run away from me? You weren't even going to say sorry? Or at least bow before crawling your way back into an alley?" His voice cut me like a knife. Only then did I realize the reason he was so _good looking._ He was jerk. He was cold hearted jerk who was bratty and didn't care about anything but getting the respect he believed he needed, even though he didn't deserve it.

I growled under my breath and I paused before saying something.

"You don't deserve a sorry, much less a bow," I said and he scoffed, pushing me onto the ground. I peered up at him from under my eyelashes **(Just saying, I have no clue how the heck someone can look at someone else through their eyelashes, but whatever)** He studied me, I guess realizing my ratty hair and my dirty clothing and marking me as an Eight.

 _Why did I even fill out that stupid form? These royals are obviously just stupid pawns. Their just figureheads, things to make our country look more in line even though it's falling apart at the seams,_ I thought, getting up and dusting my jeans off, even though they were like a year old, ripped and a little too tight on me. But that was all I had to wear. It's not like I had a bunch of maids to make me a new outfit everyday like him.

"I don't even know why I waste my time on you people. You don't even respect me like I should be respected," he said and waited a few seconds before laughing, "You truly are a rat that scurries throughout the province of Angeles looking for food and shelter."

I gulped.

"It's pathetic to even look at you," he rambled on and on and I finally had enough of this stupid boy.

"At least I don't fake a royal. The only reason you have a prince's crown on your head is because the queen and king needed comfort after the princess went missing seventeen years ago," I spat at him and pushed past him, leaving Laurent standing in an alley way, feeling hurt and empty.

I'm sure of it.

Because every word was true.

And I wanted him to be hurt; I guess that's why I used such harsh words. Maybe I wanted him to be hurt because he made me feel like nothing, maybe because he deserved it, maybe because I just _thought_ he deserved it. _Wait what?_ I questioned myself; _you didn't_ think _he deserved it! He did deserve it!_

Right, yeah, he _did_ deserve what I said to him.

And that sealed it. I was going to get my way into the Selection and do something about these royals.

Lavender

I managed to slip past my mother so that I wouldn't have to go through her questions. It was terrible having to have her around to annoy me. I already had Vincent, why did I need her too?

The streets of Hansport seemed pressured and sticky somehow. Like a humid day, except Hansport rarely became humid.

I hadn't grabbed breakfast in the morning so I was heading to my favorite café a few blocks away from my house. Every restaurant or shop I past I could smell the food bellowing out the windows and doors, trying to wind me in like a fish on a hook. But I wasn't about to walk into any of them. I promised Veronica and Kelly I'd meet them at Cammy's Café.

I turned a corner and saw the bright pink sign hanging above a small building with a man smoking outside even though there was a no smoking sign right on the door. I rolled my eyes, _of course someone is smoking, nobody follows rules these days. I mean, seriously, last week Veronica told me that someone had cheated on a very important test at one of the universities in Hansport and nobody cared!_

I stepped into the café, noticing Kelly and Veronica in the back, at our usual table. Kelly looked up and smiled, motioning for me to come sit down. I did, glad to get away from the world outside the walls of Cammy's Café.

"Veronica that's stupid. You aren't going to get anything because of some dumb diet you're on?" Kelly asked and Veronica shrugged, "I need to stay skinny if I'm ever going to make it as a model."

I rolled my eyes playfully and sat down across of Kelly.

"So, is she going on about that diet again?" I asked and Veronica made a face.

"It's not just _any_ diet, it's the diet I need to be a model, and I'm not going to give up on my dream just because I was a chocolate milkshake with you guys! Okay?" Veronica sounded serious, but she was never truly that serious so it was kind of funny. When I snuck a glance at Kelly next to me, she was already trying to put her hand over her mouth so that she wouldn't smile or laugh, but we both failed, erupting into laughter that echoed throughout the whole café.

Cammy raised an eyebrow at us from where she was standing, putting a hairnet over her orange curls.

 _Sorry,_ I mouthed and turned back to where Veronica was angrily telling Kelly about the diet.

 **Thanks for reading that chapter and I hope you liked it! Tell me what you think of the story so far!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lavender

I sat in front of the TV, sipping on my milk as my brother tried to find the right channel. We were searching for the Selection. They were supposed to be discussing it today. Kelly and Veronica sat next to me, blankets covered their laps and Veronica fixed her makeup, as if she were going to be taking pictures. Kelly too another sip and then put her cup down on the table closest to us. Turning her body to me, her eyes searched mine for some sign that I was worried, but I wasn't. I didn't really care about the Selection, nor the prince and his future wife.

"So I'm guessing this is like watching your _least_ favorite TV show?" Kelly questioned me, and I smiled at her, nodding.

"You've got that right," I laughed. Veronica turned to us, putting her makeup down while my brother snuck glances at her. I seemed to be the only one who noticed Vincent's gaze settling on Veronica's sorted face. It almost made me giggled at my brother's interest in my friend.

"Who do you think it'll be? In the Selection I mean," Veronica asked and I shrugged. There were millions of girl in this province, so I didn't exactly know who it would be. I doubted I even knew close to one hundredth of the females in Hansport.

"You realize that there are a lot more girl who want to be queen then just the girls who were handing in their forms at the same time as us, right?" I raised an eyebrow at Veronica and she scoffed.

"Yeah, I know Lavender, I was just wondering, out of the girls you knew," she said, and I knew she was hoping I'd tell her that I thought she'd be in the Selection. I wasn't sure though. Veronica was really pretty, and she wasn't dumb, plus, I was positive she had family members in other countries, so she'd be perfect. But did that really make sense? If the prince just chose a girl because she was pretty, and because she had relatives in places outside of this country, then wouldn't it be just like he was looking for a doll. Dolls didn't have personalities, nor did they have any deep and dark secrets or likes and dislikes. He'd be getting to know a doll.

Something I'm sure he didn't want to get used to.

"Welcome everyone!" The sound of a man's deep voice cut through the quiet of the room as Kelly screamed, yelling at my brother to turn it up. He obeyed and then set the black controller next to him on the couch. I don't think he's ever been so quiet. Was something wrong with him?

"I'm sure you all are excited about this upcoming Selection for Prince Xander," the man whose name escaped my grasp before I could even think of the first letter. "Tonight we'll be revealing the thirty five girls that are to enter the Selection to win the prince's heart."

The camera moved to face the prince. He smiled and I got a quick glance at his family. His mother was sitting up high in her chair, as if the camera was placed on her and she was trying to impress. The king always had a serious face it seemed. Kind of like he never relaxed. The prince's brother, Prince Laurent, seemed very distraught. His eyes always locked on the floor, his face low and his hands seemed to be shaking. I wondered what had gotten him so nervous and worried, but I didn't have time to care about it when the man started listing name after name until a couple of words entered the room and silenced us all like tap was placed across our mouths.

"Lavender Garrano, Three, from Hansport," the man's deep voice made my name sound enchanting almost, kind of magical too. My eyes wandered to my face on the screen, light hair dangling around my face because I hadn't thought that I'd be chosen, nor did I even think I'd be entering, so I didn't brush out any of the curls. My smile was forced, and made me look like I was dying inside, which I probably was. I looked, strange, like I didn't know myself. Or at least didn't believe I had gotten chosen for the Selection.

I looked at my friends, who sat there on the floor leaning against the couch like they were watching people kill each other **(Hunger Games).** Kelly was the first one to look at me, and a smile instantly broke onto her face when she caught my eyes.

"I'm so happy for you!" She giggled in happiness, enveloping me in a hug. Everything seemed oh-so different now and I wasn't ready to become a princess, much less a contestant in one of the biggest games in the world.

I glanced over at Veronica, her eyes glued to the screen. My mother yelps could be heard from a mile away, but she was only in the kitchen grabbing chips that she hadn't even poured into a bag yet. She was dancing around, and screaming, as if she just got a million dollar. But she didn't, she just got her daughter into a Selection.

But Veronica's look still scared me a little. Was she okay? Was she upset that I got in? It wasn't my fault.

 _But it was your fault Lavender,_ one part of me argued. _You filled out the form, turned it in, and took a picture of yourself. It was your fault entirely._

I swallowed and clenched my fists, angry.

 _No, it was Kelly's fault; she was the one who wanted me to sign up anyways, right?_

Right...

I guess.

Cali

Through the windows of a coffee shop, I couldn't see a lot, but I could see enough for me to make out the faces of each and every girl. One girl was long curly blonde hair, another who was really pale, and one who didn't seemed to care when she took the picture. But what made me shiver and croak and die was the name that came last. The name that seemed to echo throughout my head for a long time after.

"Cali Fredrick, Angeles, a...uh- a... an Eight," everyone gasped and I was sure there wasn't one person in the country who didn't. Even I gasped at that. My name in shiny letter on a large screen. My picture being shown to the world. My information being given to the prince to see if I'd be his future wife. But every part of me ached. It ached for something different, and this was not what I had in mind.

I didn't bother waiting for them to say anything else. I felt sick to my stomach. I had wanted to go the palace beforehand, but now it seemed utterly useless, even if I could get some money out of it.

They use to move people in the lower castes up, but now they've given up on that. They don't care about the people in the lower caste. So why bother moving them up?

My hands were shaking and my legs were wobbly as I walked down the broke streets of Angeles. I stared up at the castle looming over us and thought, _why in the world would they choose an Eight over anyone else here?_ But that question seemed to only be answered by the wind as I walked towards a bench that no one seemed to care about. Kind of like me.

I sat on the worn bench, the rough wood scratching my legs. I sighed, because I knew that it was useless. I was going to the castle no matter what. I'd just have to find a way to get out of the Selection once I got there.

Lavender

The girls were asleep on the floor besides me, Kelly snoring and Veronica with her sleep mask on. I got up from my comfortable position on the blankets. I couldn't digest the fact that I'd be going to the palace in only a matter of days. I could be the future queen of this country. But I wasn't going to think that way, it was crazy talk, I wasn't fit to be a queen, nor did I want to be the prince's bride.

The house was layered in shadows. I noticed my brother wasn't sleeping on the couch anymore so I went up to his room first, just to see if he was in there.

The door creaked open, and I was scared that I'd wake up my family and friends. Kelly slept like a rock, but my mother and father, _and_ Veronica all slept like they were mother's waiting for their babies to cry.

The door finally opened without a hassle and I slid inside, closing it even quicker then before so that the creak wouldn't go very far.

I sighed, about to turn around to see if my brother was in his room but then I noticed something. Vincent snored. But his room was dead quiet.

I twirled around to see an empty bed, up an open window. My heart dropped down into my acid stomach and my mind whirled around like a tornado. Where was Vincent?

Cali

The street lights flickered on, creating an eerie glow to the road. Only a few cars past, because it wasn't yet curfew. Everyone in the country had a curfew. Everyone but those couple Eights who were still searching around for a spot to sleep when curfew passed.

There were days when I was like that, forgetting about curfew, or just not caring. I had never been caught of course, but I've heard of some people who have been.

My dirty and broken shoes barely even touch the surface of the sidewalk as I pass by a large warehouse looking building. It's dark and I think there are people in it because I can hear the echoes of voices. Part of me wants to see what's going on inside, another part of me is begging not to go. But I do anyways, hoping that it won't be a bunch of Twos who hates Eights.

I open the large metal front door, it wasn't locked. The massive room seemed to be made of only stone and metal and other kinds of hard solids. I didn't see a single board of wood in the first room I entered.

The room was different then what I imagined it to look like, so I guess it wasn't a warehouse after all. The stone house had an enormous flat area that was empty, with nothing lingering inside. Two staircases, leading up to the same one floor curled around a door. I wondered which opening I should take, the one on the first level or the one that was above it, on the second level.

I heard another voice yelling, and it was coming from the second level, so I grabbed the railing of the staircase and skipped upstairs, trying to be quick about it.

The door was large, like a castle door, which I would be faced with sooner or later when I went to the palace. It had carvings drawn into it, and it seemed to be the only thing in the room that wasn't made of stone. A large iron door was pushed open by my small hand. I was surprised that this place wasn't more well secured. But at least it gave me a chance to investigate.

I stumbled into a long hallway that stretched so that it looked like it went on forever. I was starting to think this was a dream and none of it was real. Soon I'd be awake on that bench outside and I wouldn't have even entered here, nor would it look like this on the inside. But when I pinched myself, all I got was a yelp. I grabbed the closest thing; a small table set off to the side of the hall, and gripped it tightly. The passage was littered with other pieces of unnecessary furniture. There were two small settees, a couple more tables, and some knight's armor set in front of the door at the end of the hall. I gulped down all of the doubt that was going through my mind and took a step forward, trying to steady myself so that I wouldn't fall onto the ground.

I leaned against one of the red settees and sighed. Maybe this was a bad idea, but I had to keep going. I wanted to know what was happening even if it was one of the dumbest things I've ever done.

When I was more than halfway down the hallway, I realized that whatever was behind the door in front of me would probably be dangerous, or it sounded like from the voices that it would be.

I glanced at one of the table besides me, which I hadn't been leaning on because I was walking just fine at the moment. I noticed a pair of glasses set on it, a lamp to light up the hall, there was a plate with what seemed to be coins on it close to the lamp, and the last thing on the table was a small needle and yarn. I swallowed before picking up the needle and leaving the yarn sitting alone by itself. The needle didn't have a companion, it was just itself. Part of me wondered where the other needle was, and if someone had taken it for defense, but I didn't think about that long as I heard another yell, louder this time, come from the door.

I moved towards it, my heart now beating a hundred times faster than it ever had before. My head hurt and my hand felt weak holding nothing but a stupid little needle that wouldn't be a good weapon against a gun or a sword. I paused before touching the iron door. My hand was cooled by it and I could see it shaking. Why did I even come here? Why didn't I just go on with my life?

Why hadn't I turned around by now?

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you liked that chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Lavender

My brother was nowhere in sight. I checked around the house, twice, and he still didn't show up. I wondered where he was, or what he was doing in the middle of the night. Maybe I should wake my parents up and tell them. They'd be worried about him. I decided against it though, I mean, it wasn't like he was going to be gone forever, it seemed like he meant to leave us. Maybe he had a secret girlfriend and was cheating. Maybe he was out play poker with some friends or something weird like that. It couldn't be too bad.

But then everything bad came crashing into my mind. He could be working with the royals. He could be part of rebellion. He could be in trouble. He could've been kidnapped. My heart immediately sunk into my stomach when I thought of other things that could be going on. What if he was dead?

 _Dead? That stupid, he's not dead,_ My mind argues and I gulp. What if he was dying, and all I was doing was thinking of ways he could be dying? I'd be the worst sister in the world.

"Lavender?" Veronica's voice made my spine tingle and a shiver grow under my skin. I turned on my heel and stared at her, black rings of hair falling into her face. I wrapped myself in my arms and gave her a pathetic smile.

"Veronica," I said in a relaxed tone, as if I wasn't hiding something, "what are you doing awake?"

"I heard you, what are you doing, getting a snack in the middle of the night?"

I almost giggled, but I didn't. This was stupid, I should just tell her that my brother was missing and I was looking for him. But maybe she'd say something. Maybe she'd go and get my parents. Maybe out of jealousy- because I got into the Selection -she'd tell my parents it was my fault. _What, no, Veronica wouldn't do that she's one of my best friends;_ I whispered inside of my mind and sighed.

"I don't know where my brother is and I-"

"Why did you hesitate to tell me?"

"Huh?" My questioning voice just made her a little angry.

"Why did you hesitate to tell one of your best friends about this? Do you just not trust me or something?" She snapped and I looked at her. Maybe she was just tired. _Yeah, that's it, she's just really tired._

"Veronica I-" I tried to speak but she liked to cut me off. My voice didn't go on for long when her angry one stepped into the conversation. I didn't get a lot into it as you can obviously tell.

"NO!" She almost yelled at me, "Stop talking, you think you're so much better than me now don't you, just because you got into the Selection and I didn't. Yeah, well you're wrong. I can't believe it wasn't me. I can't believe it was _you._ "

No, this wasn't Veronica; this was the jealous, angry, tired Veronica I only met when Kelly and I tried to wake her up because she fell asleep during our favorite zombie movie. _This wasn't Veronica._

Her hands were clenched and my heart was beating fast. I fretted that Veronica would do something that she regretted later, so I tried to calm her down, but it seemed as if everything I told her, she countered with something she imagined I had said. I really did sound bad when she took her time to describe everything that _seemed_ like a horrible thing I'd said or done.

Veronica corners me in the kitchen and I grip the counter, my knuckles becoming white. Veronica kept telling me how terrible and horrible I am. She scrunches her nose up and scoffs at me, "And to think the prince has to have _you_ in the Selection instead of _me._ I feel really bad for him. I mean, you're oh-so plain and filled with nothing but smart facts those pretty little loose ringlets you have there, which, by the way, don't even look that good on you."

I knew she was lying to me, because just the other day she told me I looked amazing with those ringlets. But maybe she had been lying then. If so, Veronica seemed to be the master liar. Maybe she had been lying to me this whole time. Maybe our friendship wasn't even real. _Stop thinking like that Lavender, that's crazy, you guys are supposed to love each other._

But right now, Veronica looked about ready to attack be and pull the ringlets out of my head. I winced at the idea and turned to her. I eyed the door, wondering if I could run out and wake up Kelly to help me, but I wasn't sure. I didn't even know what was wrong with Veronica, but she scared me enough to want to get a companion.

Veronica looked at me; her eyes seemed clouded with confusion or worry, and anger creeping in slowly. I was wishing for my brother to come out of nowhere and help me, it seemed like the most reasonable thing to do. An older brother coming to his little sister's side. But of course my older brother could care less about me, so I wasn't really sure if he'd come, even if he was walking through the front door right about now.

I braced myself for her anger, for her hurtful words, or even her sad attempts at throwing punches and slaps at me. But to my surprise, they never came, and I opened my eyes to the small light of a lamp sitting on the kitchen table. I shielded my eyes from the harsh rays of the lamp and looked at the person who had turned it on. Kelly was standing in front of me, and as I looked around my clean kitchen and dining room, I realized that Veronica was nowhere to be seen. It was like she just disappeared. I motioned for Kelly to come over and whispered to her once she got into reach.

"Where did Veronica go?" I was afraid that Kelly didn't know and that Veronica had left to get some kind of weapon or something to hurt me. But Kelly's eyes just widened and her eyebrows wrinkled together in confusion.

"What do you mean where's Veronica? She's in the living room sleeping. But you're brother isn't in there with us, and he's not in his room, I checked," Kelly said and I raised an eyebrow. What did she mean, Veronica was in the living room sleeping? She had just been attacking me, right? Or was I sleeping walking or something?

"Hey Lavender, why are you out of bed?" Kelly's voice was layered in worry. I don't know why, but I hadn't even paid attention to her and was still bewildered by the fact that I might have been sleepwalking.

But was I sleepwalking?

And where was my brother?

Cali

I pushed the door open and everything seemed to stop.

Two men were talking quietly it seemed, and another was in the corner leaning against something that seemed to be a giant box. I knew that I was in trouble when all of them noticed me. The two who were talking stopped and raised an eyebrow at me, the other didn't care, he just grabbed a soda that was resting on a table nearby. One of the men, a guy with long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and a now smug look on his face walked forward, and I felt myself taking steps back.

"Who do we have here?" He asked and I froze in my place. I was scared, that was the truth of this. I'd never been in a situation like this. Not when a man looked ready to kill me and his comrades had dead looks in their eyes.

"Uh...um-I, I didn't mean to-like, uh...um...disturb...I mean-yeah, I didn't mean to disturb-whatever this thing is," I stuttered and the man laughed, smirking. I felt my bones start to shake and my arms were becoming wobbly, the needle in my hand was feeling a whole lot heavier than it had a few minutes ago in the hallway.

"Don't worry, you weren't exactly disturbing anything important," the man said, and the other one, the guy he had been talking to before, went to argue, but the man threw something at him, and he muttered angrily.

The man who had gotten hit eyed me and I realized his hair in the very dim light of the room. It was dark, like a blackish color, and his eyes were a honey-brown color. I swallowed, afraid of what he'd do if he had the chance to strangle me.

"What's your name darling?" Mr. Ponytail asked and I fiddled with my shirt's hem before answering quietly.

"Cali."

"What did you say?" His voice was like a feather tickling the insides of my stomach getting me ready for something terrible to happen.

"I said CALI!" I growled and the man smirked, laughing once more.

I was about to say something to him, but was cut short by the sound of the door behind me swinging open.

I turned around and noticed a boy with blonde hair looking at both me and the Mr. Ponytail guy. He frowned and gave a questioning look at me. Then his face flashed with some kind of remembrance.

"You're a Selection girl aren't you? You're the Eight. You're going into Prince Xander's Selection with my sister."

 _Wait what?_

Lavender

The next day, my brother still wasn't home, and I was getting lectures on how to be a princess form my mother, who wouldn't leave me alone. I struggled to keep up with her on dresses and dancing and other things that were useless like that. My dream from the night before scared me, and every time I looked at Veronica, I could feel myself recoil in fear.

"Where is that brother of yours?" My father asked, looking all around the house but finding him nowhere.

"Maybe he went out with his girlfriend or something, okay Jeff, just let it go for a while," my mother opened up a cabinet and pulled out a cup to get some water for herself. Without bothering to ask me or my father if we wanted one after I had just went through a stupid lesson and my father just got home from a long day of work.

She sipped her water calmly, searching our faces as she thought of where Vincent could be.

"Or maybe he's with his friends, I haven't seen them in a while."

"You mean Kenneth and Wither?" I asked and my mother nodded.

"Exactly," she placed her cup down and moved towards the phone.

"What are you doing?" My father questioned and my mom shrugged, "Calling them."

I can't believe I hadn't even thought to call my brother's friends and ask them if they knew where he was. Was this Selection thing messing me up?

"Hi, Kenneth, this is Ms. Garrano, we were wondering if Vincent was with you guys, we can't seem to find him anywhere," my mother's voice rang throughout the kitchen, as I bit my lip, worried. My mother's relieved sigh made a smile break out on my face. He was okay, probably.

"Thank you Kenneth."

Cali

Mr. Ponytail's phone rang, making a loud echoing sound go through the empty building. The guy who had walked in was still staring at me, as if this was amazing and he couldn't believe that I was actually here. My flesh and blood standing before him.

Mr. Ponytail spoke in a low voice, probably to keep me from hearing him, "Who is this?"

Someone said something from the other side of the phone and Mr. Ponytail rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Yes ma'am he's here with us, sorry to keep you worried, we didn't think it'd be a problem," the man said and I frowned. Who was he talking to. When Ponytail hung up the phone he glared at the guy who had just walked in.

"Dude that was your Mom. You seriously need to make up some stupid excuse when you come here, because she's called us three times in the last month wondering where you were," Ponytail said and the boy nodded, "Yeah I know it's just-"

"Wait, time out, wait!" I commented. They both looked at me and I tried to think of what to say next.

"Before we get into _your_ problems, let's focus on mine," _that sounded kind of jerky._

"Your problems?" The boy repeated and I nodded, "I mean, I'm in a room with you guys who seem to be some kind of smuggling club and I don't even know what to call you people!"

Ponytail walked over to me and took my hand in his, "I'm very sorry Miss Cali, let me introduce myself properly. My name is Kenneth Van Belle, I run this "smuggling club" as you say." My heart hitches on his name. Van Belle, where have I heard that name before?

"Over there is Oliver Fletcher and Wither Trenton, both comrades of mine," he motioned to the guys in the back, the man who got angry that I cut their conversation short was Wither, he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed at the moment, obviously not listening to us, and even if he was, it didn't seem like he cared one little bit. Kenneth started talking again, "And this, is Vincent Garrano, his sister Lavender Garrano is in the Selection, like you I'm guessing."

I nodded, but then swallowed what I was going to ask about his sister. Did his sister know about this, or was she as misinformed as that mother was on the phone?

"If you're wondering what we are let me answer your question right now," Kenneth said and I gulped once again, thinking of the possibilities.

"We're what you call the Red Winged Rebels, or Red Winged Raiders, that's what we're called in other countries and in some of the other provinces. Now, I know what you're thinking, once again, _Why is there only four of you?_ Well, dear, there isn't only four of us, there is actually more than a million of us, but scattered across the country."

 _I wasn't really wondering that but whatever._ I thought.

"So you're the Eight?" A voice from behind asked and I turned to see Wither walking up to me. I nodded a little and he laughed. "Well then I'm sure you'd make a great addition to the team."

 _Addition to the team? They want me to join them?_ My head hurts and my mind swirls in different directions.

"What do you mean?" I asked, even though I knew the answer already. They wanted me to go into the Selection and work for them, didn't they? Kenneth spoke up, telling me exactly what I had in mind. His voice seemed more confident by the end though, when he asked me, "Do you want to join?"

I didn't know if it was right to say no, and I wasn't sure if I wanted this or not. But if I could help them, then I'm sure things in my life would get better. So I forced that one word from my mouth.

"Yes."

 **I hope you liked this chapter, surprising how Vincent is a rebel right? No, not really? Okay. Thanks for reading and enjoying! Please tell me what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Cali

The Red Winged Rebels explained everything to me. I am to go into the Selection, and I am to get information for them. It's easy enough, and I'll get more money than I would if I was stealing from a market stand.

They wanted me to stay in the Selection for as long as I could, and I hoped to stay long enough to get them the information that need and want.

But what I don't understand is the stupid send off that has to go down when everyone in Angeles doesn't want me to go to the palace to represent them. So, instead of going along with the send off, I told them to just take me straight to the palace, without giving anyone my goodbyes, nor taking false luck from the crowd.

They did as I said, since I'm higher than them during the Selection. They didn't even go through the crowd, they just rushed the car towards the palace, hanging high above Angeles.

I hated the thought of this, my mind kept telling me it was going to be okay, that it was going to be really fun, but honestly, I think my lips were red from me biting them so much. Kenneth told me to get information, so that was what I was going to do. It'd be fine, I'd be fine. Information, focus on the information.

As the car pulled to a stop in front of the palace, I got out, without the help of anyone. Even though I didn't like it, and didn't think anyone else liked it, people still cheered for me as I walked by them. Those butterflies that every girl felt in their stomach were turned into rabid beasts that were punching my insides. **(I always feel like that)**

Everywhere I turned, somebody wanted me to sign something of theirs, somebody wanted to talk, somebody wanted me to shake their hands. And nobody cared that I was an Eight. For once, it made me feel, good, to be in the spotlight and not be called guilty, or a thief, or something terrible. I was just that Selection girl, like all of the other thirty four Selection girls that were entering the palace at the moment. These people didn't care if I was an Eight, but my stomach lurched when I saw three girls come out of a jet and follow me up to a shiny black limousine. Two of the girls whispered something and pointed to me, giggling.

I rolled my eyes, of course the Selection girls would care if I was an Eight. They'd think I was easy to get out. They could just blame things on me and nobody would care. Because I'm an Eight. I'm sure the royal family would be nervous that'd I'd steal something, or that I'd smudge a beautiful piece of artwork. Fine then. I won't touch a thing. And I won't even try to win this thing.

Lavender

The Eight was with me. I came on the plane with two other annoying girls and we were supposed to be meeting to Eight there. People crowded around us and guards showed the way. Those two other girls whispered, even though I could hear what they were saying.

"Those guards are really good looking," one girl whispers.

"Yeah, but most of them are Sixes and lower I think. Perfect for that Eight up there," the other girl pointed at the Eight and giggled. The Eight, I totally forgot her name, had noticed their giggles and turned her attention away from them, towards the crowd that was crying out for her to sign their arms, or maybe their baseball caps, or something else that was close to them. But she ignored almost all of the people who wanted her to sign something. She waved to some little kids and smiled at other people. I think she was zeroing out people. People who looked young, or old, or poor. She was zeroing out people like her.

 _Of course she was!_ I thought as I tried to keep up my pace. The two girls were in the back, talking and giggling and waved and posing for those stupid cameras that I tried to dodge. I ran ahead, grabbing the Eights shoulder before she got into the castle at the end of the walk. She turned to me and wiped off my hand. I smiled and grabbed her hand, shaking it. She let go and got into the building and was silent as we waited for the other two girls who were taking their sweet old time.

"So...your an Eight right?" I questioned and she turned to me.

"So?" She scowled and crossed her arms. "Just because I'm an Eight doesn't mean I don't have a chance." She sounded like she didn't _want_ a chance though. Yet she still stuck up for herself and her caste. This girl was surprising. She was someone I'd never met before. Someone with a fiery temper that didn't whine about being in a lower caste, but she strode in her skin confidently. I was sure we were going to be great friends.

Cali

The Three was staring at me. She tried to start a conversation tons of times before she finally gave up and let me stare at the pretty palace as we rolled past towards the Women's Room I guess, where all of the girls were getting makeovers and giggling about how cute the prince was.

The girl, the Three I mean, was seated next to me. As they came up to her, they asked her what she wanted them to do with her face. She had snapped at them that she didn't want her face to be changed. They asked her is she wanted a darker color for her hair, or if her usual blonde hair was alright. I smiled when she nipped at them like she was a dog and they were robbers. Maybe she wasn't so bad.

Someone came up to me and looked me over. I knew she could tell I was the Eight, with my baggy eyes, my slight slump, my messy hair and dirty face. I'm pretty sure that my province flower fell out of my hair a long time ago.

The woman sighed and took care of me, giving me a scrub, brushing my hair, putting on makeup (even if I did refuse most of it) she got me new clothing, a short dress that was a dark gray color and a new smell. This was crazy, they wanted me to where perfume too!

They made me choose between three different choices and all of them looked terrible to me. I didn't really want to smell like the ocean. I imagined dirty seawater and fish. I had no idea what Paris smelled like, and it looked appealing until I opened the bottle. I guess not a lot of people from Illea have gone to France because I was positive that it did not smell like that. My last smell was of some kind of chocolate, though it didn't smell like chocolate at all. It smelled like cardboard and year old candy. I was about to put it back down when somebody swooped it right out of my grasp. I was about to yell at them, but then I saw a girl in a short pink puffy dress open up the top of the bottle and smell it.

"Oh my goodness this smells so good! I love it! Can I have this? You can have one of my lousy one," she said and motioned with her hand to the tray of three different scents. Her first one was vanilla, which didn't really suit my fancy. Her next one was strawberry, which I would have taken right there but I decided to look at the last one, which was some weird herbal garden smell. I gladly took the strawberry.

"Hi!" The girl who stole my fake chocolate perfume smiled and stuck her hand out for me to shake. "I'm Amber!"

Her blonde curls framed her circular face. She was shorter than me, but not exactly petite. She opened her chocolate bottle again and had some maids put it on her. I was guessing she was a higher caste then Six if she was making them do that.

"Hey, wait, I think I remember you, you're the Eight right?" She asked and I nodded, not really feeling in the mood to snap at her.

"That's so cool! I'm a Six, what's your name Miss Eight?" She smiled again and I frowned. Amber was a Six. Did she use to be a maid like these girls?

"Oh...uh, um I'm Cali, sorry," I said and Amber giggled.

"No worries, I think we're all a little nervous about making new friends here, but don't worry, I bet you'll be the star of this show! I mean, there has never been an Eight in the Selection before! It's amazing that you're the first! Are you proud to be the first? How did you even get a form?" Amber's curious eyes showed nothing but kindness to me and I was surprised. I expected everyone here to be a jerk to me since I was a lower caste. But the two girls I met so far, the Three whose name I hadn't even caught, and Amber, they had both been kind.

"I found it in the trash, disgusting right?" I smiled and she shook her head.

"Actually no, I had to go digging through the trash for my form too. My dad didn't want me to be in the Selection, so he threw the form away before I even saw it," Amber said and my eyes popped out of my head. I wasn't the only one digging through the trash for my form? I wondered what else some of these girls did to get their forms.

Prince Xander

The girls walked in with pride, or at least most of them did.

The Eight walked in, trying to get away from a very attractive Three. Don't judge me if I think some of the girls are pretty!

The Three, I honestly don't remember her name, nor do I remember the Eights name, but for some reason, my brother remembers her and only her, anyways, the Three was trying to talk to the Eight as they waited for two other girls who were talking and giggling for the crowd. I rolled my eyes from where I was sitting. I was on a ledge above the main entrance. So far, none of the girls have seen me.

The Eight ignored the Three, which I thought was strange. The Eight seemed to have some kind of anger with her. The Three seemed to be wanting a friend that was sane.

The other two girls entered the entrance and they started walking with a few guards following and leading them. The Three sighed and looked up at where I was sitting on the ledge. I froze, and swallowed. The Three noticed me and turned her head away, as if she didn't even want to look at my face. Was I really that unattractive?

As the girls left I couldn't help but wonder three things.

One: how did the Eight get into the Selection.

Two: why did that Three seem like she didn't want to be here.

And Three:

Why did that Three want the _Eights_ attention?

 **Hi! My day was spent breaking a wall, what about your day?**

 **I hope you like this chapter, it had the prince's POV! He's really weird, don't blame me!**

 **We finally got into the Selection and Lavender and Cali have met each other. We didn't really get a lot of Lavender's POV today but that's okay... I guess.**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **P.S. sorry for the somewhat small chapter**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Lavender

Having makeup lathered onto my face wasn't what I imagined to be my _biggest_ problem during the Selection.

"No!" I yelped as one girl tired to put some mascara on. I swatted her hand away and the other girls tried to attack me with makeup.

I dodged eyeliner, slapped nail polish, and clawed at...what was it called? Never mind.

Then the rest of my day was spent trying to find a good dress to where. Each time a maid came out with a new one, I just sent it back to where it came from. I wasn't going to look like a fool and I certainly wasn't about to let them dress me up like a doll with a giant puffy cup dress. And I tried to stay away from Taylor Jameson, a Two from Finnley, and her dress of strangle. It looked so tight that it hurt.

I picked up a green dress, with a loose bottom and a sweetheart neckline.

"This'll do,' I smiled as the girls all sighed gladly and helped me into it. I had to choose a perfume too, which at first I refused, but then the maids told me I had to, because I smell like I just walked out of a room without air.

How do they even know what that smells like?

"How about this honeysuckle, Lady Lavender?" One of the maids, a shy one, asked and handed me the bottle. It was kind of fun being a drama queen for a day. Hopefully it'd be enough to get myself out of the Selection in the blink of an eye.

"No. It's too light, and not my taste," I answered, shooing her away with my hand. Another girl came up, smiling like she just won the lottery. Her blonde curls weren't like my loose ringlets, they were more like crinkles in a smooth blanket. She handed me something and I smelled it, gagged afterwards. It smelled like someone dumped a whole van of wet dogs into the tiny little bottle.

"What _is_ this?" I asked and the maid shrugged.

"I just thought you'd like it," she said and I couldn't tell if she was _trying_ to be offensive.

Another maid walked up to me, but this time I was hesitant to take what she handed me.

"What's this smell?" I asked, picking up the jar and uncapping the bottle.

"Oh don't worry, it's not bad," she said meekly and I raised an eyebrow, "That wasn't exactly what I was going for."

"Try this," I heard a voice from behind me say and I turned around to see the Eight, whose name I still couldn't remember, holding a little white bottle. I plucked it from her grasp and opened it, smelling the inside, "What is this?" I asked and the Eight took the bottle back, looking at the label. _Wow Lavender, you could've just looked at the label,_ I thought as she handed it back and answered.

"It's some kind of Paris smelling perfume. I don't even understand how you can get Paris in a bottle," she shrugged and I laughed at her comment. I handed it to my maids, positive that it would me the right scent for me.

I reached for her hand, to shake of course, but she pulled away, eyeing me like I was about to steal something from her hand, even though there wasn't anything in it. I shifted uncomfortably on my feet, then waved, even though she was right in front of me, "My names Lavender."

"Cali," the girl said and I smiled. Maybe she was warming up to me.

Prince Xander

I wasn't allowed to eat dinner in the Dining Hall, because all of the girls were in there. I also wasn't allowed to eat breakfast in the Dining Hall, because I had to meet all of the girls at lunch. But sadly, my family was allowed to eat there, it wasn't _their_ Selection.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. I couldn't focus on my work if the Selection girls were zooming around my house like it was a racing track. I was too nervous to step outside of my office in case the girls would be taking a tour, or standing outside, even if they weren't supposed to be on the third floor.

"So are you just going to _pretend_ to read that, or are you actually going to do something?" My brother Laurent said as he entered the room with no problem. I swallowed and put the papers down next to me on my dark wooden desk. I had my own office, my father believed that I should if I was to be the king one day. My brother was forced to share with my father, King Cameron.

"I can't concentrate with these girls here! They're driving me crazy!" I said and banged my head against the wooden desk. My brother scoffed and leaned against the front of it. I glanced at him and raised an eyebrow, "What's your problem?"

"You, you're my problem," he said, turning to face me, 'Aren't you excited for these girls? If I were the crowned prince, I'd be happy to have thirty-five girls come to the castle for _my_ hand, yet you don't seem to enjoy it." I groaned. of course _Laurent_ would like these girls coming to the castle for him. He was a jerky little brother. He cleared his throat and kept talking, as if he hadn't even stopped, "I might have to steal one of these lovely girls away from you."

"Don't you dare even _try_ ," I growled and he laughed.

"I was joking..." he paused, a smirk on his face, "maybe."

Cali

I was a lower caste then the maids, yet they still would treat me like royalty.

"Miss Fredrick,' one of my maids, I'm pretty sure that her name was Gina, called from my bathroom, where I was supposed to be getting another layer of makeup since mine was "fading".

"Please, just call me Cali," I said with a smile, even though I was starting to get annoying. My other maids, Lyndsy and Anny, were both working on my dress to meet the prince, though I didn't really care if it had sparkles, or flash, I just wanted it plain.

"Okay, Cali," Gina yelled again over the rushing water. "Your bath is almost ready, if you'd like me to get you undressed."

Ew...

Gross.

I hated the fact that these maids had to get us dressed and undressed. Did all royals have maids or butlers to help them get ready for the day? It was kind of pathetic, and stupid, you know... the fact that they couldn't just do it themselves.

"I'm fine, I think I can do it on my own," I said and walked into the bathroom, shooing her out. She went over to Lyndsy and Anny to help make my plain light blue dress better. I rolled my eyes before closing the door and slipping my dress off. I got into the bathtub and soaked in the water, until I heard a slight knock on the door only minutes after I entered the bath.

I could hear one of my maid go over to the door and open if, quietly gasping at the person on the other side.

"You Highness, we weren't expecting you to show up," I heard Gina's voice through the door and I froze, swallowing. Why would the prince want to see me? We weren't supposed to meet him until the next day!

I quickly got out of the bathtub, almost slipping because I didn't bother to wipe up the water I caused to fall onto the floor. I grabbed a towel quickly and started to dry myself. I quickly put on my dress again, but the zipper was too hard for me to zip up. _Oh no!_ I thought as I struggled to pull the little handle up, but it was stuck. I sighed and ran my hand over my face.

 _Everything is going to be okay, everything is going to be fine, everything is going to be-_

"Miss Fredrick?" Gina knocked on the door to the bathroom.

 _EVERYTHING IS NOT GOING TO BE FINE!_

I tried to dry my dark wet hair with the royal red towel that was lying on the sink. I wiped the steamed mirror, but it just kept fogging up. Great, perfect, absolutely magical. All of the other girls were going to meet the prince in fancy dresses, pretty hair, beautiful makeup, and here I was, in a half zipped up lousy dress, my hair wet and tangled, and no makeup whatsoever, though I really didn't mind the makeup part. How was I ever going to get him to let me stay?

I decided that I was better then ever when I pulled my hair up into a messy damp bun. I slowly and quietly opened the door, trying to make it so that he didn't notice me, but he did.

Except he was not who I thought he'd be.

Lavender

"How is your hair so perfect?" A girl with short curly brown hair asked me on our way to the Dining Hall. Our mentor was going to help us with table manners, for those who didn't know any.

"I don't know, I guess you could ask my maids, they were the ones who did my hair Belle," I said as me and Belle, one of my newest friends, along with a girl named Carla, went down the long hallway with other girls walking around us. Carla was nowhere to be seen at the time. Her think, long, black hair was usually very easy to spot in a crowd, her she wasn't in the mob that went racing towards the Dining Hall.

"I think I _will_ ask your maids about it...when I see them again, of course," Belle smiled and skipped towards the door at the end of the hall. I rolled my eyes playfully and smiled. Belle was one of those always happy girls, she reminded me of Kelly, from back home.

"BOO!" I yelped and turned slapping at the person who scared me, but my hand didn't go far as Carla gripped my wrist.

"Don't. You. Dare. Hit. Me," she said and I smiled meekly.

"Sorry," I breathed turning back around as she fixed her hair, even though she wasn't one to like doing her hair. I sighed, even _she_ reminded me of home. She kind of looked like Veronica, with her long black hair, except for the fact that her hair was thick and Veronica's was thin. Was it strange that I knew almost _everything_ about my best friends?

"So, are you excited to meet the prince?" Carla asked and I scoffed. _No,_ my mind yelled at her, but it wasn't her fault that she didn't know I hated them.

"More like...uh...nervous I guess," I lied and she laughed at me as we came closer to the Dining Hall door.

"Well _I'm_ excited," Carla smiled.

If only she knew why _I_ wasn't, I thought as I opened the door to the Dining Hall.

A bunch of girls scurried inside and I walked in after them, with Carla right behind me.

The prince wasn't supposed to be having dinner or breakfast with us, but he'd be having lunch with us. I was kind of glad, because I didn't really think I had it in me to make an impression at the moment.

 **Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviews. And I'm truly sorry about my other story, for those of you like it. Anyways I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reading.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Cali

 _I slowly and quietly opened the door, trying to make it so that he didn't notice me, but he did._

 _Except he was not who I thought he'd be._

* * *

I stood in front of the prince, pulling on my hair. I felt _really_ embarrassed now. As if him seeing me like this was torture. He would be able to make fun of me forever now.

Prince Laurent took a step forwards told my maids to leave the room. My maids looked at me with nervous eyes and I gave them a smile that said don't-worry-I'll-hurt-him-if-he-tries-anything. They quickly scurried from the room as I tugged my wet bun.

"What do you want, Your Highness?" I asked, spitting the words out at him with no respect at all. It was kind of like I was forced to say them, _Your Highness,_ was like a joke, and inside joke with a close friend. But _he_ was not that close friend.

"Just wanted to wish you luck, this competition can get a little brutal, if you don't have it in you, I'm sure my brother would be find with sending a useless girls home," he smirked and I rolled my eyes at him. How did he live with himself? How did he think he was cool? I huffed out a little breath before speaking, "I've lived on the street for a long time, _Prince Laurent,_ I'm not dropping out, nor do I think a bunch of girls breaking their nails is brutal."

At this he laughed, like I wasn't serious and it was _only_ meant to be a joke. I didn't laugh, or look him in the face. I moved towards my bed, where my maids laid out another dress for me to wear. This one was short and white and felt like one of those old baby doll nightgowns. He looked at it, and then at me. He reached out is hand to touch it, and I hesitated to slap his hand away. Would he call the guard if I hit him? Would I get thrown out of the Selection _and_ the Red Winged Rebels? I watched him as he played with the fabric for a moment, then dropped it, looking at me.

He breathed, then looked away for another second, and when he looked back, I thought I saw something in his eyes, some kind of emotion that looked like an apology or maybe it was sympathy, honestly I didn't know the different.

"It doesn't suit you,' he said quietly, and I knew he meant the dress. I looked down at it. He might not of thought it suited me, but I thought it was perfect.

"How would you know? I bet you don't even know my name," I spat and he looked at the ground with a smile.

"It's Cali," he said and I froze, "right?"

"Last name," I said and he paused before he answered.

"Fredrick."

"Get out," I said and pushed him away from my bed and away from my room. "And don't mess with me again.'

And I closed the door in his face.

* * *

 _THE NEXT DAY_

Prince Xander

Laurent and my parents have already left to go to breakfast. I practiced what I was to say to the girls. _Hello? Does that even sound prince-like?_ I thought as I tried to write down everything. I had a couple of hours after breakfast before I had to hand myself over to a bunch of girls. I wasn't sure how it was going to be. Were they going to rip me to shreds or were they going to cry in my face? I swallowed hard. Hopefully neither, though I'd take the ripping to shreds over the crying any day.

My younger brother Laurent always knew how to ruin my day. He wasn't exactly a positive person. He had been feeding me false information all morning.

"Okay, so let's start, Lady June likes to fish," _no she doesn't_ , "Lady Gabrielle works at a factory," _what is he talking about? She works as a model!_ "Oh and Lady Jane has two older brothers, one of them is mute, that's too bad."

All morning my brother would tell me things that weren't even true about the Selected, so now, an hour later after I found out, I have to go over all of the girls again, learning something new about them.

I scanned the papers and my eyes landed on one. This one, my brother wasn't wrong about.

"Cali Fredrick, an Eight from Angeles," I read aloud, though nobody was in the room with me. "How did you get into the Selection?"

"Your Highness," I heard and my bedroom door opened. A maid stepped inside and motioned for me to come over. I did, even though I didn't have to. Her blonde curls were tucked underneath her hat and I noticed that she was nervous, and maybe that she'd been running to get here.

"What is it?" I asked lightly, trying not to sound annoyed or mean.

"Your brother asks for you, in the Dining Hall,' the maid whispered and I frowned. Why in the world did Laurent want me? And in the Dining Hall? All of the girls were to be in the Dining Hall and I wasn't allowed inside until lunch, because I wasn't allowed to meet them until then.

"Um...okay," I said, nervous. What was my brother planning on doing?

Prince Laurent

In the beginning, flirting with my brother's Selected girls wasn't what I had planned on doing, but now, I liked the idea a lot.

As girls came into the Dining Hall and we were all waiting for breakfast I started winking at some of them and they'd giggle. I tried to wink at that stupid Eight, Cali, many times but she just silently groaned and rolled her eyes, turning to face the girl next to her, named Amber, who I had told my brother was only four feet five inches tall.

I winked at another girl, named Taylor, who was sitting next to a Three who I couldn't remember the name of. Taylor was a model, she was some superstar actress too, and was a Two. Her dirty blonde hair was braided to the side and she was wearing a red dress that looked like it should have been illegal. My brother wasn't _that_ dumb.

Right then, thinking about my brother, I wanted him to see this, I wanted him to meet these girls who were trying to impress him, so I called for a maid.

I didn't care if he wasn't supposed to meet them yet. He was going to meet them now, whether he liked it or not.

Lavender

The prince was here, and Carla and Belle were freaking out next to me. To my left was Taylor Jameson, who had that really tight dress when we were having our makeovers. She was having some kind of conversation with Prince Laurent from her eyes. I didn't understand how you could do that, but she was starting to scare me with her flirty looks to him and to the _real_ prince, who we were trying to win the heart of.

"I thought we were supposed to meet him later today! I had a perfect dress and makeup, and Carla looks like she's going to a funeral right now!" Belle yelped and Carla narrowed her eyes at her as I laughed. I glanced at Prince Xander, who was smiling at girls and sitting down at table to talk to them. I swallowed. I _really_ didn't want to meet him, and I _really_ didn't want him to meet me.

But when he came over to my table, there was no stopping him from asking everyone's names.

"I'm Taylor Jameson,' Taylor flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder ad I rolled my eyes. I didn't do that with _my_ blonde hair. Probably because mine wasn't as perfect as her hair.

The prince glanced at me and met my eye, "I'm Lavender..." I said, trailing off. Carla nudged me, bringing me back to real life where the prince was still staring at me, waiting for my last name too. "Oh, um...yeah, I'm Lavender Garrano."

He smiled, thought I think it was forced and he moved onto Carla.

"I'm Carla Martinez," she smiled, though I _knew_ her smile was forced. She had been complaining about wearing dresses the whole morning, whereas Belle was giddy with excited about pink and puffy and sparkly dresses.

"Isabelle Rogers, but everyone just calls me Belle," she grinned and the prince _actually_ smiled this time, he even laughed at this.

"Well," he said in a handsomely boyish voice. WAIT WHAT DID I SAY!? "I should be going to talk to some other girls, but I'll come back for more info- I mean, conversation later."

Information?

 **This was a short chapter, so sorry about that. And again, I'm sorry for those of you that liked my other story, but it was getting harder to keep going and I apologize. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10! I have no clue why I'm so excited because of this. Well hope you like the chapter!**

Chapter 10

Cali

I was _not_ going to stay around talking to the prince while his younger brother kept trying to flirt with me from a distance. It was torture being in the same _room_ as him! I needed to be excused.

"Hello ladies," Prince Xander came up from behind me and put his hand on the back of my chair. I tensed up, blinking once before turning around to see his eyes on me. He quickly glanced behind him to cover up his odd stare. I swallowed. This was going to be a long lunch.

The prince thrust himself into an empty chair next to me. I turned my head so that I wouldn't have to look at him, but I'd be able to hear him.

"I was just wondering if I could know everyone's names...not that I didn't remember them or anything but..." was the prince nervous? I snuck a peek at him as he tried to get the name out of the girl next to me, who I noticed was very shy and didn't talk much. I poked the prince's shoulder, confused by my own sudden confidence towards him. He turned his head and looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Her name is Hortense Callahan, she's very shy," I said and he nodded, looking away fro a minute before turning his attention completely on me.

"And you must be Cali Fredrick, you're an Eight, aren't you?" He asked and I didn't know if I should feel kind of offended or not. He was pointing out how poor I was, he was telling me I was pathetic...right?

"Yes, I'm Cali, the Eight, I guess your nickname is accurate, but not very polite for a prince," I crossed my arms and turned my head to the right, away from his now hurt face. I noticed the girl Lavender I had met the day before glaring at me, before she turned back to one of her friends, named Carla I think. I huffed and blew a strand of my dark hair out of my face.

I turned back to him, and his face lifted with hope.

"Your Highness I'm sorry for my behavior, I'm just a little offended by the way you said that," I muttered and he smiled, "No, I'm sorry Lady Cali, I shouldn't have said it that way, let me apologize by taking you out to the gardens tomorrow afternoon. My treat."

Wait what?

Did he just...?

No, he didn't...

He couldn't have...

But sadly, he did. The prince just asked me to be his first date. _And_ he apologize. What did this guy think he was doing? Pretending to be kind to me. He couldn't fool me, I knew about his brother's poor behavior and he probably was the same behind the scenes. Just wait. I'll go on this date, and then during the date, he'll send me home. Should I except the invitation then? I need information, so I probably shouldn't. But that small part of me that actually _wanted_ some romance during this Selection, was urging the idea of a date. My mind was just stupid enough to go with it.

"Um...yes of course Your Highness, okay," I stuttered and his smile widened. Was it possible he was actually a nice guy?

No.

No it wasn't.

I sighed as he went on to asking Amber what her name, and then another girl who went by Katie.

I glanced at Prince Laurent, who's face seemed serious now, as he stared down at his plate, moving his fork over the food he hadn't ate. I paused thinking.

 _What were these princes doing to me?_

Lavender

Cali was talking to the prince, and something inside of me hated the fact that she was. I kept mentally slapping myself, telling me that it was stupid, the idea that I was angry because of Cali and the prince getting along so well.

I listened half heartedly to what Belle was talking about. Something that had to do with chickens and how evil they are. Which I really couldn't see.

"Sometimes they kill their children once their born! They are just _nasty_ mothers!" Belle said, in her voice that sounded like a young child's. She told us that her uncle owned a farm, so she went to visit him sometimes.

"His hens are meaner then the roaster!" She said, throwing her hands up in the air as she said it. Just to be a little more dramatic.

I looked over at the prince and Cali. Lady Cali wasn't listening to the prince talk to the other girls anymore. Her face was slack as she fiddled with her necklace. I paused, staring at it a little more. Along with her outfit, it all seemed to be rushed on, like she was trying to hurry up because she was inpatient. Or maybe because she wanted to come and meet the prince so badly.

I _almost_ laughed at that. Cali was an Eight, and didn't seem like the kind of person to like the royal family, much like me.

"Those animals are like little Velociraptors!" Belle said and Carla raised an eyebrow.

"Little what?"

"Velociraptors," I said and both Belle and Carla looked my way, "They're dinosaurs, they're about six feet and eight inches long, I think, and weigh up to about thirty three pounds. I researched dinosaurs so I know a lot about them. The scientific name for them is _Velociraptor mongoliensis_ , I'm pretty sure."

"What?" Both girls said at the same time and laughed. I sighed. Would anyone here understand science like me? Or was a bound to be a weirdo for the rest of my life?

The girls started talking again, totally forgetting about my little school lesson. I looked at my food and pushed it away. I wasn't hungry anymore. I just wanted to think. Was I just too intelligent for this? I never wanted to be a queen, I wanted to be a scientist, but my mother would never let that happen. She wanted my brother Vincent to be a doctor like my father, and then she wanted me to marry up a caste to be a Two and be some kind of model. She always told me I was pretty, but when I looked in the mirror, all I saw was science goggles on my face with a lab coat wrapped around my shoulders.

But now, instead of my shoulder being wrapped up in a lab coat, they were sagging, sad to be left unnoticed.

Until I left a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Prince Xander standing over me. I almost fell out of my chair I was so surprised. I never imagined he'd come up to me, and _only_ me.

"Hello Lady Lavender, you looked a little gloomy from over at that table and I wanted to know if everything was alright," he sounded concerned, but the part of my mind that knew better was biting me to say something like, "And it's your business because...?"

I played with my fingers for a few seconds more. Never in my life was considered the shy type, only quiet, because I was always doing something, getting something done. I wasn't shy, because if somebody came up to me, I'd talk to them. I was confident and brave. But there was something off today. Not only about the royal family, and how nice the prince was turning out to be, but there was something strange about me. I was being a coward. I was hiding away in a corner like I didn't want to talk about my feelings or whatnot.

I surveys the crowd before focusing my attention back onto the prince, who was still standing there. Concerned.

I made a fake smile, trying to hold it together for as long as I could.

"I'm fine Your Highness," I replied meekly, "Just thinking."

He nodded and left me sitting there. Once again alone.

Amber

I studied Cali, trying to see what was wrong with her. Shouldn't she have been happy? The prince had asked her out on a date. The _first_ date. I shook her shoulder and she peered at me from the corner of her eye.

"What is it Amber?" She asked, her tone serious. Did she not want to go on a date with the prince? How could she not want to go on a date with the prince? He was the whole reason we were here! She should have felt honored.

"Why are you so upset? The prince asked you on a date! You should be excited! I'll help you pick out a dress! Don't worry it'll be amazingly fun!" I yelped but Cali shushed me. He sighed and turned in her chair, her dress cascading down the opposite side of the metal chair, "Amber it's not like that. I'm an Eight," she paused, as if this was an excuse and it wasn't the real reason, "the prince won't want an Eight in the Selection. I'm probably going to be thrown out.

"But this is his apology, remember?" I asked and her face hardened. She remembered, but that didn't seem to make things any better for some reason.

"I know," Cali answered sourly and I frowned. An apology was a bad thing? I never realized how strange Cali was until now. She was acting weird, so I turned around to talk to the woman next to me. Cali said silent until I heard Hortense speak up, which was odd for her.

Hortense's rough voice cut through the air as she spoke.

"What's wrong Cali?" She asked and I paused, almost telling Hortense that there was no way Cali would tell her if she didn't tell me. But what was shocking was Cali's voice that rung through the air just as rough and quiet.

"Everything."

 **Amber's POV was in this chapter! And just to tell you, I got the name Hortense from a book, Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross. It was a pretty good book that I saw so I decided to read. Anyways thanks for reading!**

 **P.S. I love Lavender's little dinosaur discussion, I'm proud of it, even if I did have to search almost all of that information. I know nothing about dinosaurs.**

 **P.P.S. I did _NOT_ know that I was going to update again today but I'm am very happy that I did!**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Cali

I didn't sleep the whole night. I was too worried about the date. I never wanted to go on a date with the prince, so why did he ask me? Oh right, because he thought that he had to apologize for offending me.

My maids put makeup on me even though I fought them a little. I refused to have anything pointy near my face, so we left the eyeliner and some others sitting on the dresser. They gave me a short cherry red dress with a boat neckline and a pleated skirt. I put it on and twirled in front of the mirror. I never wore dresses, so that was a problem coming to the Selection. I didn't know how to walk in high heels, or wear makeup right. I didn't know anything about the fancy life. But this dress seemed to make it so that I didn't have to know anything about this life. I could just live it.

I slipped on a pair of high heels the girls gave me and one of my maids came up from behind me and put a necklace on me. The necklace was silver and had a heart charm, but before I could study it any further a knock on the door startled me out of my daze.

One of my maids walked over to the door and swung it open, revealing the prince in a tailored suit and a red tie. It matched my dress almost perfect.

Prince Xander smiled and stepped into the room.

"You looked beautiful," he said and I paused. _Beautiful?_ I thought as I got up from where I was sitting on the end of my bed. nobody had ever told me I was beautiful before. It was almost surprising that the first person ever to do so would be a prince. It was _almost_ surprising. I mean, the prince was _supposed_ to tell the girls they were beautiful. It was their job...I guess.

I took his hand, and even with high heels on, I wasn't as tall as him. It wasn't that I was really short, it was just that it seemed like he was really tall.

He smiled at me again, clearing his throat and motioning to the door.

"Shall we go?" He asked and I raised an eyebrow.

"Shall?" I asked and he laughed, "Yes, shall."

I bit my lip, which had bright red lipstick on. I quickly nodded and we headed outside to the gardens. Right where he said that we'd have this date. I gulped. I hadn't even realized how worried I was until now. I knew I was scared. Scared to be thrown out of the Selection, and then be thrown out of the rebellion after. But I didn't know I was so scared that my hands were shaking.

"Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost," Prince Xander asked, looking concerned. Why did he always have to look concerned? It made him seem nicer, and he wasn't supposed to be nice!

My voice started cracking when I spoke, "I'm fine."

It was a lie of course, and a terrible one at that. He saw right through my excuse and sat down on a bench, obviously wanting me to do the same. My leg felt like they were melting like butter next to the prince. He put his hand on my leg and I froze, tensing up at the touch. I would have slapped his hand away, but we both heard someone entering the garden, and our head jerked up to see who it was.

Prince Laurent always knows the best time to ruin things. He strutted into the garden like a prince. Of course he _was_ a prince, but he didn't have to show it. It was obvious with the crown on his head and the vibe he gave off that he was royal, no doubt.

"Oh I apologize, I didn't' know you two were on a date," Prince Laurent smirked. I almost groaned. Why did everyone use that word? Apologize. I felt sick when I heard the word now.

Prince Xander looked ready to kill and hug his younger brother. He got up, about to move over to him when he noticed something else. A string of hair behind a rose bush. He squinted and looked back at me, asking me with his eyes what it was. I only shrugged, I didn't have as good of a view as he did, so I didn't understand why he wanted me to tell _him_ what it was.

Prince Xander almost shoved his brother out of the way to see who it was until a girl popped out of the bushes. One of his Selected girl. I bit my cherry red lip again and stared at her. She looked down at the ground. Was Laurent trying to ruin his brother's Selection? Did he think this was funny. But when I looked at Laurent, I realized he had been staring at me. My heart fluttered at the thought. But then I turned my head away. _Gross._

Xander looked between the girl and Laurent. He stopped throwing his head around and focused his blue eyes on Laurent.

"What is she doing out here?" He asked, his anger masked by his kingly voice. I swallowed. Were they going to attack each other? Was this going to get more interesting?

"She was taking a walk with me," Laurent said, obviously proud with his own stupid accomplishment. I don't even think I can call it _that._ It's nothing more than causing trouble. And I guess that was what Prince Laurent was known for.

"Why...?" Xander's voice was calm, but I was the one to hear the fury that lingered underneath his straight, emotionless voice. I swallowed again, biting my lip harder then before. My poor lipstick.

"Because I asked her too," Laurent said and I gripped the edge of the bench. He was such a jerk, even to his brother. "I think she enjoys my company more then yours."

I got up, done with his stupid little game.

"You are a terrible brother," I spat in his face and he looked at me, surprised. "Why would you do that to Xander? Why would you do that to anyone? Are you _trying_ to ruin his Selection? Do you think this is some GAME?!" I furiously rushed through my words. I wasn't calming down anytime soon. My head spun and I kind of wanted to run to my room and cry in the corner. But I couldn't do that, because then I'd be a wimp and that was one thing I was _born_ not to do.

Xander looked at me, then at the ground. His fingers found mine and he squeezed them, clearly trying to comfort me. I was sure my face was red as I looked at the pink flowers to my right.

"Me and my lady will just be going now," Laurent said with a sour voice. I squeezed Xander's hand more and they left. I knew who one of the first girls going home would be.

Xander

Cali and I stood there in silence for a couple of minutes. I was surprised that she did that for me. I didn't want to explode on my brother in front of her, but I didn't have to. She did.

"He's a jerk," I said and looked at her. She was biting her lip, and squeezing my hand. She was furious with him. It was like he ignited her anger. I almost smiled at that. He ignited _everyone's_ anger.

She looked over at me and I noticed that some of her lipstick was gone, revealing the pink of her lips. Frankly, I didn't think she needed all that makeup.

I pushed a strand of her brown hair out of her face and she looked away from me. Was something wrong? Did she just not like me?

"He never liked the idea of a bunch of girls being here at the castle," I told her, wondering if sharing what I knew would make her like me more. She stopped biting her lips and glanced at me, "But he didn't have to do that. Isn't it illegal for a girl to do anything romantic with someone other then you during the Selection/"

"Yes, but I know my brother didn't actually do anything romantic with her," I said and she sighed.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"No."

"Precisely," she sat back down onto the now cold bench and closed her eyes for a moment, letting go of my hand. I sat down next to her and she opened one eye, looking at me. She looked really pretty with the sun high in the sky and the flowers swaying and bees buzzing around her. I took her chin, and turned it so that she was facing me. She tensed up and didn't talk. I didn't either. We were silent for a couple of minutes before I spoke up.

"Here is my apology."

And our lips connected.

Lavender

I sat in the Women's Room, reading. All of the Selected girls were here, all of us except a couple, one of those girls Cali, who was going on her date right about now.

We all found out about her date yesterday night, when we huddled into the Women's Room after dinner. Amber told us about it, while Cali sat quietly. I could read her like a book. Probably because she acted somewhat like me. She didn't want to go on the date. She didn't like the royal family, the Selection or the prince.

"Hey Lavender, can you come tell us how to play chess!" Carla yelled from across the room and everyone shushed her. She whimpered and coward into a corner. I came over, "sure," I said up close, to teach Carla a lesson about not yelling.

Another lesson I had to teach them. Playing chess. They were not good at it.

All of their pieces were set up wrong. Both kings and queens were in the corner of the board. The knights weren't even on the border. All of the pawns were scattered throughout the wooden plate. I didn't even know what to say.

"Okay, so I made a story up with them,' Belle said and she showed me. "There is a giant party. The kings and queen are in the corner, that's the V.I.P. area. Those horses over there-"

"The knights," I corrected.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. The _knights_ are outside, they're like the cars. All of the pawns are dancing in the non-V.I.P. area and the towers-" I didn't even bother correcting her on that, "the towers are the guards, so they make sure that the people who aren't allowed in, don't come in."

"Are those two pawns out there not allowed in?" I asked, curious for some reason.

"No, this white pawn isn't allowed in, but the black pawn is just getting some gummy bears from his car," Belle explained and I raised an eyebrow, "Gummy bears?"

"Yep," she said, popping the P, "okay, anyways that other guy, I don't know the name though-"

"It's a bishop," I told her and she swatted me away with her hand, "Again," she said, "I don't really care what their names are. I already named them. So those 'bishops' as you call them, are now named Billy. Well, the Billy are the DJs, so they tend to the music and all that. How do you like it?"

I thought about what I was to say.

"It's interest," I smiled and Belle proudly put her hands on her hips, "Thank you," she said this like she just won a prize.

I looked over at Carla, who shrugged.

"This may need a little work though."

 **I love Belle's chess party! I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	12. Chapter 12

**SO MANY UPDATES! I guess I just update a lot because I'm bored.**

Cali

I've been unable to sleep ever since that kiss. He _kissed_ me. It was only the second day!

I should have felt embarrassed because of what I did afterwards, but I didn't feel embarrassed. I felt...confused.

Feelings were swarming around in my stomach and brain and I was losing my mind over this. I stared up at the dark ceiling of my bedroom. The moonlight shined into my room and cast an eerie glow around my bed.

Here's what happened afterwards.

 _I pushed him away, my face heating up and my legs urging me to run._

 _He paused, looking into my eyes to see if I felt anything. But I felt something. Something that didn't make sense to me. I got up, and touched my lips. They felt normal, soft, but there was something else. Xander's lips still lingered on mine if felt like. He was staring at me, and he slowly got up. I swallowed. He reached for my hand but I snatched it away. No, this wasn't how it was supposed to go._

 _I raced towards the castle, away from Xander. I could hear the sound of thunder close by. I should have known. I thought I heard SOMETHING about a storm this afternoon._

 _I told the guards to open the door for me, and they hesitated. I growled, pushing the doors open myself. I didn't have time for these stupid guards to be hesitant. I rushed through a group of maids talking and past some of the Selected and towards my room, where my three maids were waiting for me, with open arms._

 _I started crying, right there, engulfed in a hug by one of them named Karen._

My mind wandered back to that moment. I was crying for about an hour. Prince Xander didn't come to check on me, but I knew he had come inside because the storm started only minutes after I entered my room for that hug by Karen.

I sighed and turned on my side, staring in the direction of the door. Everyone was probably sleeping at the moment, and I was here, thinking about the pathetic things that happened today.

I closed my eyes for a moment, hugging the blankets to my chest. My nightgown was ruffled underneath the light sheet. I felt like was in the wrong place. I was an Eight, and I didn't belong with all of these Twos and Threes.

 _Click._

I opened my eyes and saw someone closing my doors.

 _Xander,_ I thought. It must have been Xander.

I pounced up from my lying position and the figure turned. It was too dark to see anything, so the person's face was still dark, but something told me it was the prince. I could see the outline of his figure. Tall, muscular and definitely male.

"Xander?" My voice cut through the dark. But there was no answer from the person.

"What are you doing here so late?" I asked, forgetting the fact that it might not have been him. A sigh came from the person and I looked at them to see the figure moving closer to me. I crawled away from the figure, to the other side of my bed. The outline stopped and sat on the edge of the nightstand to my left.

"I'm not Xander," the voice said, and I imagined Laurent, coming to talk to me. But it wasn't Laurent either. The voice did seem familiar though.

"Then who are you?" I asked and I heard the man laugh. It was deep and...attractive.

"It's me you idiot," the voice said, "Kenneth."

Oh...oops.

"What the heck are you doing here? How did you get into the castle?" I asked, because I thought that nobody could get into the castle.

"With you in the castle already, it was pretty easy to get in, don't worry, but I have to warn you," he said and moved closer to me. I sucked in a breath, frozen in fear like I was before Xander kissed me. Kenneth moved in close and I could feel his breath. His face was so close and I was so nervous.

But then he whispered.

"There is going to be an attack tomorrow, at two o'clock when everyone is at lunch. You need to leave the Dining Hall before hand and meet us here, near your room," he said and I gulped, wondering, _what?_

"How will I get out?" I asked and he fell back.

'I don't know, nor do I care, just do it, and do it quickly, we won't have much time after we enter before the rebel bell is rung," Kenneth said and I moved towards him, noticing something. He stared at me as I touched the back of his head.

"Your ponytail is gone," I pointed out. Now his blonde hair was pretty normal, spiked up in the front. He looked like a regular teenage boy.

Kenneth laughed and said, "I know, Captain Obvious. Just be here, tomorrow."

I nodded as he left the room, pretending that he wasn't here at all. But he was. My heart was still beating as proof.

Lavender

Breakfast was a rush of odd stares, flying eggs and bacon **(bacon)** and Belle trying to get me to listen to her new song she made up.

"Chess party! Party of the chess!" She sang and I rolled my eyes playfully shaking my head.

"You are a beautiful singer," I said and smiled.

"Why thank you,' she said and gave me a bow from across the breakfast table. I giggled as she kept going.

"The chess pieces would really enjoy! An amazing breakfast like Helen of Troy!" She sang and I raised an eyebrow.

"Helen of Troy?"

"What? I needed something that rhymed," she shrugged and started eating the strawberries on her plate. She had already ate mine, that I had traded her for her apple. She munched on them quietly, because you really couldn't make a sound when you ate strawberries.

I moved my fork around the eggs wondering what happened during Cali and Prince Xander's date. Did they have fun? Hoped not. Then I frowned at myself. Why did I care if they had fun? Was I jealous? No, I couldn't be jealous, I wasn't really here to win the Selection, I was only here to have fun. And that was what I was doing, right?

I swallowed a piece of eggs, instantly feeling bad and forgetting about the hunger that had enveloped me earlier. I wasn't feeling that hunger anymore.

"Hey Belle?" I asked and Belle looked up from putting a strawberry in her mouth. She made a noise that sounded like a, _yeah?_ But I wasn't sure.

"I think I'm going to go back to my room. I'm not feeling so well," I said and Belle dropped the strawberry from her mouth.

"Are you okay?" She asked and I nodded, "Yeah," I lied, "Just a little stomach ache, I'm fine."

"Okay."

My feet felt funny as I got up from the table, hobbling over to the door where the guards gladly opened to let me out. I stumbled down the hallway, leaning against it for a couple of seconds while I clutched my stomach. Something didn't feel right, and I didn't know what it was. I groaned and started to see black spots in my eyes before sliding down the side of the wall onto the ground. I saw a glimpse of a brown string of hair and heard my name be called out by a voice, a female voice.

"Lavender!" It was Cali's voice and I passed out watching her run towards me.

What happened?

 **Shout out to Roses323, baaacooon and Anna5678! Thank you guys for the wonderful comments! I love reading them! I hope you liked this short chapter and thanks for reading.**

 **P.S. I didn't sleep well so that's probably why this chapter seems so...poorly done. Or at least I feel like I did it pretty poorly.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Lavender

I woke up a little while later in the medical wing. When I opened my eyes, nobody was there. No doctors, nurses, or maids. It was deadly quiet.

I looked at myself and noticed that it seemed as if someone had been trying to get me out of the medical wing too, but couldn't, so they just left me. I got out of the bed I was in and walked around. Total silence. There wasn't a single peep. That's what scared me. The fact that nobody was to be seen and everything was quiet.

I left the medical wing and walked into the castle again. Nobody was there either. Where was everybody? Did they all die in some kind of nuclear bomb or something? No, that wouldn't work, the palace would have been in pieces if so.

I made my way towards my room, but then stopped. Shouldn't I go to the Women's Room or maybe the Dining Hall? I decided to go to the Dining Hall, to check if they were there. It looked about lunch time, so they must have been eating.

The strange thing was, that I didn't see any guards, or maids scurrying around. It was like everyone was just gone.

I opened the doors to the Dining Hall and gasped at what I came face to face with.

The Dining Hall was a mess. Plates broken on the ground, cups tipped over and food splattered on the ground and other places. Chairs were on the ground, even some of the fancy candles were knocked over. And from the food they were having, I could tell that it had been lunch.

But still, no one was there. Everyone was just gone.

What had happened?

Cali

I raced towards my room. That was where we were supposed to meet right? Kenneth would be there with the other guys and they'd tell the plan to me. But for some reason, doing this made everything feel terrible. I felt like I was betraying the royal family somehow. I didn't even like the royal family though, so why did I care?

I swung open the door to my bedroom, glad that my maids weren't in it. Kenneth was sitting on my bed, his elbows propped up on his knees and his shoe tapping the ground. When I entered he looked up and leaned into his position. I looked comfortable.

"Your a minutes late," he growled and I gave him my _seriously_ look. Why did it matter if I was a minutes late.

"But I guess it doesn't matter anymore. I came to tell you that the attack is being postponed. Were missing one of our best commanders, and we need him to do this. The others are all waiting outside in case something happens. I just want you to form an alliance with the prince. If they start to think one of the Selected girls has betrayed them, then you'll be the first person that point to. But if you've got some relationship with one of the princes, then they won't even glance at you when it comes down to it,' Kenneth explained and I frowned at his last sentence.

"What do you mean by _one_ of the princes? I'm supposed to be here for Prince Xander right?" I asked becoming worried. If they wanted me to start fighting for Prince Laurent that'd be a problem. He annoyed me to death, and I hated his guts.

"I'm just saying, that you can choose either one. But if you got both that'd be even better. I'm sure you'd get a lot of information then," Kenneth said and moved to stand in front of me. I tried to take a step back, but he grabbed my wrist, keeping me in place.

"What have you gotten so far?" He asked and I gulped.

"Not much, but I do know that the prince is..." is...is...? What is he? I lied, "he's a wimp, and his younger brother won't be a problem, it seems as though he only worries about thing that have to do with his appearance.'

Kenneth smiled and nodded, stepping back to give me some room, "That's perfect Cali, that means their both easier to manipulate. I bet all you have to do to get the younger brother's attention is call him handsome," he laughed and I joined in with my nervous on, "Keep up the great work, and make sure they _both_ like you."

"Got it," I murmured and he left. But only five minutes after he left, I heard the rebel belle go off.

Hortense

The Selected girls were all forced into a safe room, the royal safe room. My hands were shaking and my lips chattering. Everyone seemed nervous, but my blood had gone cold. I was shaking like pop corn popped. And what worried me more was the fact that nobody knew where Cali was.

I huddled in a corner, crying. I was so scared. Were we going to die? Were we all going to die? No, the prince wouldn't let that happen, would he?

I honestly didn't know. The prince and his family had always been a mystery to me. Should I trust them? Should I hate them? Love them? Look up to them? My mind was scattered in different directions with these people. I didn't know what to expect, and I also didn't know what to do. Were they the kind of people who liked more fancy talk or casual conversations? The prince so far seemed calm and cool, his brother seemed smug and proud. His parents seemed to almost mask their emotions, and personalities. The queen never smiled, unless it was a fake, forced smile. She either had a sour face, or a serious one. The king _never_ smiled. Unlike the queen who actually forced smiles sometimes, the king never did. He was always business, serious and never playful. I wondered instantly what his Selection was like? Did he always act like that, or was it just in front of a show that he decided to be deadly?

I don't think I'd ever know.

"Lady Hortense?" I heard the prince's voice and I looked up, trying to steady my shaking hands.

"Yes Your Highness?" I spoke softly and he smiled, "You don't have to call me that you know. I like just being called Xander."

"O-okay," I stumbled on my words and he laughed playfully, "Don't worry Lady Hortense, I don't bite.'

 _I'm sure you don't,_ I thought but smiled and nodded.

"I hope you're okay, I'm sorry about this mess, there weren't supposed to be rebel attacks," he said and I nodded again. Then, the prince said something I had been waiting for, 'Do you know what happened to Lady Cali and Lady Lavender? I'm worried about them."

"No I'm sorry your Majesty I haven't seen them," I said, though I had seen Lady Lavender stumble out of the Dining Hall during breakfast, and she was nowhere to be seen during lunch. And Lady Cali had hid herself in the library all day, not bothering showing up to lunch either.

"Well now I'm really worried," Xander said, biting his lip then walking away to talk to some other girls.

I sighed. Would he ever pay attention to the girls here, or was it all business?

 **Hi guys! I hope you liked this chapter! It had Hortense's POV in it! By the way (for those of you that don't know already) I've started an SYOC called _Crystal Skies._ Anyways thanks for reading! The ending was kind of rushed, and I don't know why, I think it's because I didn't have a whole lot of time to write it, or because Hortense was getting kind of boring for me. Anyways thanks!**

 **P.S. It's pretty late so I guess that could be a reason I cut it short.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Xander

Lady Lavender and Lady Cali were missing. I kind of understood Lady Cali, because of our strange kiss, but Lady Lavender? Was she angry with me too? Was my Selection just falling to pieces?

Lady Hortense didn't know where they were, neither did Lady Carla or Lady Taylor. They all didn't have the slightest clue to where they were. Until I asked Lady Belle.

"Lady Belle?" I tapped her shoulder and she turned around, her short brown hair whipping her face. She smiled at me, "Hello Prince Xander, how are you?" I lied, 'I'm fine, but I was wondering if you knew where Lady Lavender was this morning at breakfast, and where Lady Cali was during lunch."

Belle thought about it, then something hit her, "Lavender wasn't feeling so well, she decided to go back to her room, but she wasn't walking well either, she might have gone to the medical wing, but right now I don't know where she is. And as for Lady Cali?" I swallowed, hoping she knew where she was. I couldn't have one of the Selected dying because she was angry over a kiss I gave her. "I don't know where she is, I just know that she wasn't at lunch. I think I saw her in the library, I think she was hiding there all day."

"The library?" It seemed like a strange place for Cali to go.

"Yep the library," Belle said and I thanked her before moving towards the door. I was about to open it up when my brother came in and pushed me out of the way.

"What are you doing?" He asked, "Are you planning on dying?"

"No," I said, brushing my suit off, "I was going to go get two of the Selected I couldn't find, I think I might know where they are now." I was speaking, but Laurent wasn't listening, he only rolled his eyes, "That's stupid, let me go."

"I will not," I said, angrily, "They are my Selected, and it is my fault."

"Yeah, but if you die, then I'll be heir to the throne, and this Selection will instantly turn into a Selection for my heart, and do you really want all of your girls falling into the hands of your brother? Same as your country?"

 _No, not really,_ I thought and pushed him a little, "Fine Laurent, you can go and find them. Lady Lavender should probably be in the medical wing, or somewhere close by there and Lady Cali," he saw his brother tense up at this name. Meaning his brother either hated her, she hated him, or something was up. "Lady Cali should be in one of the libraries."

"Thanks for making it easy Cali, we've got a million of those," Laurent grumbled under his breath and nodded, "Yeah, whatever."

"Thank you," I said, to my surprise, "for this."

"No problem, but you owe me big time," Laurent said.

"Whatever you like, it's not like you don't already take things from me," I smiled and he rolled his eyes, opening the door and stepping out.

Laurent

What had I just did? I just told my brother that I'd go out and get two Selection girls for him. I didn't even like one of them!

I was going to die. This was going to turn out terribly and nobody would be at my funeral.

I rushed down the hallway towards the medical wing. I wanted to go there first, not to the library, where idiotic Cali decided was an amazing place to hide during a rebel attack. I opened the door to the medical wing. There was nothing in there, I only saw some things pushed over, a couple of jars of medicine tipped so that the little pills were falling out. I groaned. Where could this girl be? I didn't understand why girls had to wake up and go investigate. Couldn't they just stay in one spot until someone came to get them like normal people? It would make more sense then.

I rubbed my temples and sighed, thinking a little.

 _Just calm down, everything is going to be alright,_ I think as I push the door open once more to leave.

I go down the hallway, and peek through doors and into rooms but I find no one nowhere.

 _You could check her bedroom,_ I think as I make my way towards the Selection rooms. I make my way to Lavenders first, which is in the same hallway as Lady Carla, Lady Taylor and Lady Belle's rooms.

I push open the door, not even bothering to knock though that would have been the appropriate thing to do. I stepped into the room, which wasn't as big as mine, and seemed litter, probably because the walls were colored a light, soft purple inside of my dark red walls.

I looked around and saw nothing but the unmade bed that the maids were probably working on when the rebel alarm went off. The bathroom door was opened, and light was pouring out of it into the room. I turned off the light and closed the door. Where could this lady be?

I turned on my heel and was about to leave when I heard something coming from down the hallway.

Rebels.

Lavender

Where was everybody?

I tried to understand why nobody was anywhere to be seen, and why the Dining Hall looked a mess and why this was the only trace of them I could find. It just didn't make sense to me. I couldn't connect the dots.

Were they all dead or something? Had something happened to them? An alien abduction or something?

I made my way towards the Women's Room, and looked inside. It wasn't as bad as the Dining Hall, but you could tell something happened. One of the pillows were ripped and fluff was everywhere. Another pillow was sitting right in front of my feet, far away from the settee it was supposed to be on. The glass coffee table was shattered into a million tiny pieces and the rug was splattered with a dark substance I couldn't make out.

I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything at all as I turned around and left.

The hallways weren't any better.

It seemed like a hurricane made it's way down the hallways, knocking over painting, sculptures and other things like that. I swallowed as I rubbed the back of my head. Whatever happened here seemed recent, like maybe half an hour before I woke up. So it was probably still going on, just in another part of the castle.

I shivered at that. To think that there were people in the castle, killing and breaking things. Maybe they were like me, maybe they had hated the royal family, but something changed in me when I got here. Maybe I just started to believe that they were good.

 _No,_ that part of me that hated the royals said angrily, _the royal family is sick. Look at those poor people in the lower castes. Look at Cali, she probably spent her whole life starving and being rained on. Think about them, and then think about all of this useless stuff the royals have. They're just too selfish to help._

 _Or maybe they just don't know what's going on?_ I tried to make that sound like it was true, but it didn't. They understood how Cali was an Eight. They understood how all of the lower castes were suffering, yet they were living up here like kings and queens (though they were kings and queens)

I swallowed. The royal family didn't care, and I didn't understand how for even a second I thought they did.

 **Hi! Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you liked it! And thank you for being amazing too! Bye!**


	15. Chapter 15

**REBELS!? WHA...?! Okay I hope you like this chapter and keep being amazingly awesome geeks (though if you prefer calling yourselves nerds or bookworm that's okay too...) ANYWAYS... just saying, I really appreciate all of the kind reviews and I love that all of you read this and love it! Thanks again!**

 **NOW ONTO THE CHAPTER!**

Chapter 15

Laurent

Rebels. There were rebels coming towards were I was. I swallowed and tried to get out of the hallway as quickly as I could. I had to find Lavender and Cali before I died. Because I was positive that they wouldn't mind killing me if they were rebels.

I turned a corner, heading toward Cali's bedroom. The door was closed, and locked. I looked around the hallway and found a pin on a nearby table. I was amazing at lock picking. This would be easy.

I grabbed the pin and tried to unlock the door, but it didn't work.

"Dang it," I muttered and tried again, this time successfully opening the door.

When I opened the door, I slipped inside then closed and locked it once more. Inside, it was exactly the same as Lavender's room, except the walls were a light blue color instead of the light purple and her bed was perfectly made with a tray of tea next to it on the side table.

I looked at the bathroom door, which was closed. I jiggled the knob, but it was locked. Here we go again with the pick locking. I got it the third time and opened the door, not bothering to check if there was someone in there, or if Cali might have not even known what was going on because she had maybe been in the shower at the time or something stupid like that. I opened the door and peeked around the large bathroom, spotting a body in the bathtub. I moved towards her then laughed when I saw a sleeping Cali in the bathtub.

Actually, she looked kind of cute in the bathtub, all curled up in a ball with a blanket over her and her pillow resting underneath her head. She smiled softly, and kneeled next to the bathtub. She brushed away a strand of her brown hair away from her freckled face. I hadn't taken the time before to look at her carefully. She was cute looking, beautiful even. She looked calm and peaceful in her sleep.

I moved my hand away from her face then realized that I had just been staring at her, and calling her _cute._

"What are you doing to my head Cali?" I whispered and reached to shake her awake. As I did, she groaned and rolled over, making her even cuter with her bedhead and angry look on her face.

"Why are you waking me up? Why are you in my bedroom in the first place?" She asked, pushing me out of the way as she got up and out of the bathtub. She rubbed her eyes and it was funny how childish she looked doing it. She wore a nightgown, one that was short and was cut above her knee, which would be considered inappropriate for a princess, but Cali probably got her maids to make it that way because of how hot her bedroom was. Angeles was a hot province, but her room was hit directly with light. I stared at her.

"Xander was worried, he wanted me to find you and another girl who wasn't in the safe room. What's her name? Lavender?" I explained and Cali's hands dropped for her face as she stared at me.

"Lavender?" She whispered and I nodded.

"Lavender is missing too?" She asked meekly and I nodded.

"That's what I said right?"

She only scowled at me and walked out of her bedroom. I pulled her back in, "Rebels? Remember?"

"Don't touch me," she growled wiping my hand away from her shoulder where I pulled her in. If she didn't want a handsome man touching her, then she probably should have worn something different.

As if she could read my mind, she looked at me disgustingly.

"What?" I questioned and she turned around, shivering, "I know what you're thinking."

"Okay."

Xander

I paced the room, nervous. I was worried that these girls wouldn't come back safe. What if both them and Laurent didn't come back? Why did I make him go? Why didn't I go?

Probably because he begged me to stay.

I groaned at the remembrance. It was stupid. He should have just let me go, but he didn't. Because he was an idiot. A pure idiot.

"Prince Xander, are you alright, do you need something to help you cool off?" A maid asked and I shooed her away, but asked for a drink of water before doing so. I needed to think. Not only of the possibilities that the girls and my brother were all dead, but of the Selection itself. I needed to get rid of some of the girls. And a lot of them.

I counted out the girls I didn't really like. Ten girls in all. I shivered. It felt wrong the get rid of so many girls, but honestly, I didn't think I had a connection with any of them. All of them just seemed plain, and boring and sad.

I decided that maybe now would be the best time to get ride of the girls I didn't like, and that after the rebel attack was over, they could pack their stuff and leave.

"Girls, I think I'm going to do an elimination right now! Don't worry! After the rebel attack you can go and pack your stuff to leave, if you are leaving! I'm going to be saying goodbye to ten woman today! All of you were kind and sweet, but I felt no connections to those ten woman!" I yelled to grab everyone's attention. Some of the girls screamed and others whined and some cried. Most of the girls who did those things were on my list. Almost all of the crying girls were on there at least.

I went over to the first girl, Hortense.

I kneeled down, "Lady Hortense, it was nice having you here, but I don't think there is any chance that'll fall in love with you. I'm sorry, but once the rebels are gone, I'll need you to go and pack your bags," I said quietly so that only she could hear me.

Her face was froze in an unattractive angered look. She seemed disgusted at my choice of the first girl to go. She didn't look like the Hortense I'd been feed information about. I wondered if it was because I kicked her out that she went sour.

Hortense

That jerk! He kicked me out and a couple other girls and he rbarely knew us! It wasn't fair! I was going to get him back! Heck, I might join the Red Winged Rebels! But that was _not_ fair!

I gave him my look and growled as he walked away. Stupid Prince Xander. I didn't need him. Nor did his country I guess.

 **OH MY GLOB INTENSE!**

 **I don't know what that was...I'm truly sorry *straightens tie***

 **Anyways! Thank you for reading and I want to thank all of those amazing readers out there! Big shout out to Roses323, Anna5678 and baaacooon! You guys are amazing and I know I already gave a shout out to you guys but seriously thank you!**

 **I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reading!**

 **Questions:**

 **Do you think Hortense will actually join the Red Winged Rebels?**

 **Which do you like more? Laurent and Cali or Xander and Cali?**

 **P.S. Don't worry Lavender will get a love interest soon!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Okay, so I've been really into my other book, Crystal Skies, that's probably why I haven' updated in... an amount of days. Anyways here we go, there is zero Xander in this chapter! YIPPY!**

Chapter 16

Laurent

Cali walked in front of me, obviously not nervous that she was going to be murdered by rebels. I tried to grab her and force her back but she kept pushing me away and moving onward. I growled. Why did she have to be so annoying?

We made our way towards the Dining Hall, where Cali was sure Lavender would be. But she wasn't and for a split second, I saw worry and confusion seep into Cali's face. The first crack in her perfectly emotion face.

I followed her to the Women's Room.

"So do you honestly think Lavender could be at the Women's Room, or are you just guessing by now?" I asked, smirking but Cali didn't say anything. I groaned and rolled my eyes, grabbed her wrist. I knew she was going to push my hand away, but I didn't care. She didn't though. My hand was still touching her skin and her skin still touching my hand. I felt like nobody could take me down when I was holding her wrist. As if somehow, I succeeded in something that she didn't.

We rounded a corner, towards the Women's Room.

"But seriously Cali," I said, moving in front of her and walking backwards, "Maybe Lavender is in a safe room? We have no way of knowing."

"Just shut up, okay?" She finally said and I smiled, "Fine."

She looked at me with a strange face, surprised that I was agreeing to me quiet for once. She pushed my hand away after a while.

We turned another corner, finally facing the Women's Room, but when we opened the door, it was not Lavender we were faced with.

Rebels.

There were three rebels in the Women's Room, and they turned slowly revealing a boy with black hair and honey-brown eyes, another man with blonde hair and blue eyes and a guy who was wearing a mask, so I couldn't tell who it was or what he looked like.

I heard a scream from behind us and turned, seeing Lavender standing across the hallway. She wasn't looking at me, or the black haired guy, or the guy with the mask. She was looking at the guy in the middle, with blonde hair.

"Vincent?" She whispered and I heard the click of a gun being shot off.

Lavender

My brother, Vincent, just shot the prince of Illea. My brother, Vincent, was a rebel. My brother Vincent, was going to die. And I was going to be the one to kill him.

All of my confusion and surprise was gone and it was now replaced with anger. I understood that he hated the royal family, but all this time I didn't evne know the really him? I thought he was a couch potato who was a no-good slacker and he was actually working with the rebels? Did Mom and Dad know this? Were they as blind as me? I struggled to walk, to breathe. My brother pulled out a gun, and turned the safety off.

Then he shot Prince Laurent.

I heard Cali scream.

"What is wrong with you?!" She yelled and I frowned. Was...was Cali one of them too?

Everything was blurry everything was a mess and I found myself slumping. My legs were buckling, my head was spinning and I saw one of the men, not my brother, but the guy with black hair, come racing towards me. He caught me before I fell.

I heard guards and I saw Cali push Laurent into a safe room nearby quickly, while I was being put into a safe room myself.

I didn't understand any of this, so I went back and tried to think it out.

My brother is a rebel.

He just shot Laurent.

Cali and Laurent just ran into a safe room.

Cali _might_ be a rebel too.

This man just saved my life.

I'm passed out on the floor of a safe room.

Cali

"No, no, no, no, no, this isn't how it was supposed to go," I said and I reached for bandages. Laurent groaned on the floor and I tried not to feel so guilty. I reached for a cloth and looked at a nearby sink. I got water onto the cloth immediately.

I wasn't a nurse. Wounds grossed me out, and the only time I acted like a nurse is when I use to get cuts and I needed to bandage them quickly or I'd get an infection. This was a totally new thing. I was lucky enough that the bullet onto skimmed his arm. If not, then I would be in trouble. I didn't know how to treat a bullet wound. A wave of nausea engulfed me and I tried to breathe straight. _You aren't the one who was shot Cali,_ I reminded myself.

Laurent groaned again and moved a little before I yelled, "STOP!"

He blinked.

"Don't move, I should probably elevate you, but..." _but I don't know how._

Now I really wished I listened when my grandfather was teaching me about safety and junk like that. I tried to remember everything he told me that day. Apply direct pressure to control bleeding. Okay, I got this.

I take the cloth and press directly against the wound using the palm of my hand. I do this for about ten minutes before checking if the bleeding has stopped. It has and I quickly take my hand away from where he was shot.

I take a clean bandage and wrap it around his torso, but not so tight that he'll lose circulation. I sigh. Good, good, good, I was doing alright. I think.

I looked over everything. That was it. That was all I had to do, right?

I swallowed, thinking. He could use reassurance I'm sure.

I bent down next to him and checked his pulse. He was breathing, and his eyes were closed. But I knew he was awake.

"Laurent?" I whispered and one of his eyes shot opened. He smiled, "Hi Cali."

I bit my lip and scratched the back of my neck, "Are you feeling alright?"

"No, but that's okay," he answered and stared at the ceiling. I looked around. Noticing some boxes, I went over to open them. There was food inside.

"Are you hungry?" I asked and he shook his head, "Nah, just tired."

"You are somehow taking this very well," I smiled and he tried to laughed but started groaning again. I winced, "Maybe I should stop talking for a while, just until you're better."

"Yeah."

 **Okay I feel like that was short, but I don't think it is. Anyways thanks for reading! Are you surprised that Laurent got shot or what?**

 **Question:**

 **Who do you think saved Lavender?**


	17. Chapter 17

**CALRENT CHAPTER FOR ALL OF YOU CALI x LAURENT FANS!**

Chapter 17

Lavender

I wake up, and my head hurts...badly.

I'm in a safe room, alone it seems, and I'm on the ground. No blood, no tears, no nothing. I'm fine, I'm safe. I didn't get hurt. But then all of my memories come back and I let out a scream.

Prince Laurent was shot.

I get up and reach the door, trying to tug it open, but it won't budge.

I'm locked in here until someone comes and finds me.

I swallowed and tears start to rise. This wasn't how my life was supposed to go, this wasn't how I was supposed to die. I fall to my knees and sob into the palms of my hands. I sound hysterical, my sobs echoing throughout the tiny safe room that was probably made for emergencies, or maybe for workers. This was _not_ a royal safe room. But how would I know? It wasn't like I'd ever see one in my life.

I felt like my world was being taken into a dark room and all of those dreams, poof! They just vanish. Into thin air. Like Vincent did when I noticed him. He shot, and left. I hated him for it.

My sobs turned into sniffles which turned into small, tiny, hiccups.

"Are you okay?" A voice asked quietly and I felt myself turning around and screaming.

But I had no reason to scream, it was only a boy. This boy was taller then me, but that was probably because I was only five foot five or something like that. I stared up at him, his dark hair was messy and his caramel brown eyes bore into my blue ones. I swallowed, "Y-yes."

"I'm glad," he said and red hot blood rushed up into my cheeks. Everything was becoming blurry once more, but I wasn't sure it was because I was about to black out. It was probably because of the tears covering my eyes. I wiped them away and the boy stared at me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked and took a step forward. I gulped and took a step back, away from him, "Y-yes, I-I t-told you, I-I'm f-fine." I felt like a fool. My voice stuttering and my arms and legs becoming to wobble. I wasn't going to feel like this. It was only a stupid boy, a stupid, dirty, creepy stranger who I didn't know.

 _Who I didn't know._

Wait.

"Who are you?!" I shot at him, confidence somehow making it's way into me again, but slowly.

He boy frowned, "So what? That's it? Is that what you do? You don't answer my question honestly but you expect me to answer yours perfectly fine. Yeah right, I shouldn't have helped you, you're just a brat like all of the other Selected." He growled and I stood back, surprised, but then he muttered something, it sounded kind of like, "Even Cali's a brat."

"Cali?" I asked and his eyes shot up to mine, "You know Cali?"

He growled again, "It's none of your business, why don't you go back to you're stupid little prince and ask him to buy you more jewels."

I bit my lip, angrily, "I don't like the prince nor do I like jewels! What do you just imagine all Selected girls to be stupid, flirtatious money lovers? I bet your only angry because the prince gets a ton of girls begging him to take them as his bride, and you can't even talk to a girl right! How rude are you? Haven't you ever heard, _don't judge a book by it's cover_? Huh?" I snapped and the boy dug his hands into his front pockets, and looked at the ground, not like he regretting saying those things to me, but more like he found it amusing that I'd talk to _him_ like that.

I have never hated boys more.

Cali

Laurent was feeling better, and for some odd reason, he was standing and walking a little again. **(Weird I know right?)**

I soaked another rag, and gave it to Laurent who was watching me carefully. I went over to the door once more, trying to open it. I had tried five times now, and I couldn't open it. I growled, "Is this door ever going to open?" I asked him, "You said that after fourty eight hours the doors opened, it must have been fourty eight hours already! It feels like it's been a hundred!"

Laurent laughed but shook his head, "It's probably only been one or two hours." **(Don't ask why he's walking around after only 1-2 hours!)**

I've been trying so hard not to stare at Laurent without his shirt on. I bit my lip and slid down the door, my back in contact, "We are _never_ going to get out of here." I mumbled and Laurent laughed again, "I, personally, don't think it's that bad."

I gave him a disgusted look, "Of course you don't."

Laurent came to sit next to me. He lowered himself slowly and I had to help him. He was walking around easily, but he still had a hard time with some things. Sitting down was one of those things.

I sighed and he glanced over at me, "You okay?"

"Asks the guy who got shot," I laughed and he grins, "Yes asks the guy who got shot. You seem depressed, is it something I said- wait no, I haven't said anything yet," he thought for a second then smiled, "Is it something I _did_?"

"No," I said, but I was lying. It might have been something he did. I wasn't sure. My mind wasn't exactly working right at the moment and my head hurt like heck. I gently laid my head down on his shoulder and Laurent tensed up, but after a couple of seconds, he relaxed into the position. I closed my eyes, tired.

Trying to help Laurent get better was wearing me out and I was sure I was sleeping until Laurent whispered, "Hey Cali?"

"Yeah?" I mumbled, but it sounded more like, "ym..."

Laurent laughed and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. I relaxed more, really, really, tired, but something made me shoot up from my seat. Laurent placed a kiss on my forehead.

I let out a little yelp and got up off the ground. He tried to do so too, but wasn't as quick and needed my help to lift him up. He was bigger then me, taller and more muscular, so it was hard for me to get him up off the ground.

"What's wrong Cali?" He asked and I hadn't even realized how close he was. We were inches away from each other. His chest was almost touching mine and I was breathing heavily. I wondered if he could hear my heart, thump, thump, thumping in my chest. I was melting.

He reached out a hand, and touched my cheek, looking me in the eyes, "Answer me," he whispered and I found myself wanting so badly to get away from him. I was freaking out inside. _WHAT ARE YOU DOING CALI?! MOVE! GET AWAY FROM HIM!_ But my body didn't listen to my mind. It was frozen in place watching Laurent's calm body carefully, as if expecting something to happen. As if expecting _him_ to be the one who moved away. Be he wasn't moving away, and I couldn't feel my legs.

"Cali..." he whined and I felt my heart skip a beat. He sounded so cute in his childish whiny voice. I bit my lip, trying to push those ugly, disgusting, gross thoughts out of my head. Laurent wasn't adorable. Laurent wasn't cute. Laurent was _not_ attractive.

But I was lying to myself. Because he _was_ attractive, and cute, and adorable and I _did_ want to kiss him.

"Answer me," he breathed and it was so quiet, that I could barely hear it. I felt myself stiffen. He leaned in, whispering into my ear, "Are you alright?"

No, I wasn't alright. I was dying in my skin and I couldn't do anything. He was feeding the fire. I couldn't breathe. My heart was thumping faster and faster and I was sure it'd be popping soon.

Then...Laurent leaned in, and placed a soft peck on my lips.

That was it. I was gone. This was my death. Better bury me now.

I grabbed his head, forcing it into mine and hoping that he wasn't being hurt by my rough actions. But he didn't complain as he leaned in more. I smiled through the kiss. I was _so_ going to get it after this kiss. If Xander ever found out...

I paused for a second, but Laurent kept going, wrapping his arms around me. I placed my hand on his chest, trying to push him away. No... _no..._ I wasn't supposed to be kissing Laurent. I was supposed to be here for Xander.

I finally got him to let go.

"Cali...what..." Laurent started, breathing heavily because of the kiss.

I bit my lip, "This isn't right Laurent. If Xander finds out he's going to flip!"

Laurent sighed and took my hand, "Xander's not going to find out. I promise."

How could he promise something like that?

"Laurent..." I whispered, "no..."

Laurent let out a little groan and moved over to me again. I was about to flinch away when he planted a kiss on my forehead, "You should sleep, you look tired."

I gulped, looked up at him and nodded, "Yeah..."

 **That was...gross-ish. Well there you go. There is some Calrent (as all of you say) Questions:**

 **Do you think Xander will find out about Calrent?**

 **Who do you think is that weirdo in the safe room with Lavender?**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.**


	18. Chapter 18

**I had like another version of this that had about a hundred words, but I deleted it (not on purpose) Anyways, I'm kind of winging it in this chapter, So enjoy!**

Chapter 18

Lavender

I woke up once again and my head was aching. I looked around the small safe room and noticed the door open and I was the only one left.

The boy had gotten away. And I only knew his name.

 _"Who are you?" I asked again and the boy looked at me._

 _"Who are you?" He countered and crossed his arms, sitting on the ground with his legs out in front of him._

 _I growled, "Lavender, now tell me your name."_

 _He smiled, "It's Wither."_

 _Wither? His parents must have hated him! What kind of person names their child Wither?_

 _He stuck out his arm for me to shake his hand. I took a step back, looking at it like it was poison. He studied me._

 _"I know another reason you don't like the prince," I mumbled._

 _He raised an eyebrow, "Yeah? And what is that reason?"_

 _"It's because he has manners were you lack them."_

 _He growled and looked at the ground._

I swallowed. What if the boy was a rebel? Heck! He probably _was_ a rebel!

I let a rebel loose in the castle.

As I stood up, my legs wobbled and I found it hard to breathe. I gasped for air and leaned against the doorframe of the safe room.

The hallway had scars.

Everything was ruined, and I couldn't help but think that it was like when I woke up in the medical wing. Was I going to be alone again?

But then I saw a maid rush down the hallway and there was a safe room door in front of me opened too.

Cali and Laurent probably went into that room.

I stumble dover to it. Obviously they were gone because the door was open and the little trickle of blood that was going from the safe room down the hall was very visible. I glanced inside, but instead of seeing it empty, I saw Laurent sleeping in a cross-legged position and Cali's head was resting on his lap.

I needed to wake them up.

If the prince saw them like this, then Cali would be dead for sure.

So I woke them up,

Cali

I groaned as I sat up. Someone had just shook me and I rubbed my head, "What the heck Laurent?"

But Laurent didn't answer, Laurent wasn't even near me, he was on the other side of the safe room, with a blush on his face and he was obviously nervous.

I looked around, seeing Lavender standing in the doorway of the safe room.

We were caught.

"Uh...um..." I stuttered, trying to think of what to say. I wanted to cry so badly right now. Everything was falling apart and it was all because of Laurent! I glanced at them and Lavender laughed.

"I'm not going to tell on you guys. I just want to know something," she said and I sighed, looking at Laurent who had been staring at me. I had to admit, he was adorable. He might have been the jerkiest guy _ever_ but he was also the cutest.

"What do you need to know?" I asked and Lavender's smile became a straight face.

"I want to know if your a rebel Cali."

Dang it.

"What do you mean Lavender?" I asked, rubbed the back of my neck. Lavender scowled at me, "You know what I mean Cali! Are you, or are you not a rebel?"

I glanced at Laurent, and I really, really wanted to cry now. His face was surprised, and regret. Probably regretting ever liking me.

"Why do you want to know something so stupid?! What reason do I have being a rebel?" I asked and Lavender tipped her head back a little.

"You're an Eight Cali. What reason do you _not_ have?" Lavender asked and I shivered.

 _What?!_

I was being sterotyped again. I was being sterotyped by someone I though I could trust. I glanced at Laurent, and then back at Lavender. Both is such different positions. Lavender was staring at the ceiling, and Laurent was staring at the ground. Both not meeting my eyes.

I growled.

Everyone thought I was some poor girl who needed help. Everyone thought that by being an Eight I was useless.

I almost...I almost.

No, I didn't almost do it.

I did do it.

My fingers tingled and my hand hurt.

I punched Lavender.

Lavender

My lip hurt.

Cali punched me and now my lip was busted open. I screamed, and Laurent looked up, surprised. He reached for Cali's arm but she slapped at him, not half as hardly as she punched me.

I thought over everything I said. Was there anything in there that could have resulted in this? What had I said? Then it hit me. Kind of like Cali's fist hit my mouth. I had insulted her. I had pointed out that she was an Eight, and that she was nothing. I felt a pang of hurt in my stomach. I was disappointed in myself. I didn't mean to sound like a bratty, jerky, Three, but it just came out that way. I was born as a Three, and all of those people trying to turn me into one, succeeded. I was acting like a totally brat. I understood why that boy in the safe room with me hated my attitude.

"Cali- I- I'm so sorry," I tried but called ran past me and Laurent with tears in her eyes. What had I done?

I raced out after her, trying to get her to slow down and talk to me, but I felt Laurent's hand on my shoulder.

"I'll talk to her, I promise," he said and tried his hardest to go after her, but it kind of look pathetic because of his bandages.

I bit my lip, rubbing my forehead.

Why did I have to be such a jerk? Why did I have to act like a loser?

Why did I have to be a Three?

 **Long time no update! I've been working more on my other story, Crystal Skies, so I haven't really updated this one, but here it is! I hope you like this chapter and oh my teapots! Cali punched Lavender! DRAMATIC!**

 **Questions:**

 **Does Wither's name sound familiar?**

 **What do you think will happen next?**

 **THANK FOR READING AND BEING AMAZING AND AWESOME READERS!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Here is an update for Ignition fans! Hope you enjoy!**

Xander

Maids and butlers are cleaning up the rumble and I'm still as nervous as ever. After that elimination in the safe room and Laurent, Lavender and Cali not coming back, I've started to get worried. What happened to them.

But my question was answered when I heard a girl crying and it was coming closer to where I was standing in front of my office door.

Cali rounded a corner with Laurent right behind her yelling her name.

I bit my lip, angry. What had he said this time.

Laurent went to reach for her hand, but I grabbed it, twisting it a little and he yelped. Cali stopped and turned, staring at me with red, puffy wide eyes. She looked between Laurent and me and I saw something flash in Laurent's eyes. Something like attraction to Cali. I growled at that.

"Don't touch her Laurent. Stop being such a brat and stop messing with my Selected girls," I said and Laurent ripped his hand away from me.

"I wasn't messing with-"

"Shut up, I know you were," I said angrily, and I raised my voice a little. He stared at me, confused, then glanced at Cali with that same look. Attraction. He liked Cali. I grabbed his arm and twisted it again, he let out a string of loud curse words that I would never have said, but Laurent wasn't exactly the most proper person around, so yes, Laurent was someone who wouldn't have a problem with cussing.

Cali yelped seeing this and rushed over to clasp a hand over Laurent's mouth and grab my arm, wrenching it away from Laurent's.

"He didn't do anything Xander!" She said angrily and I blinked, wondering, _what?!_

"He helped me," she said and Laurent rubbed his torso, wincing in pain and glaring at me.

I raised an eyebrow, so many questions wandering around in my head. _How did he help you? Why were you crying? Why does it seem like Laurent is hurt more then normal? Where were you? Are you okay?_

But I started with something simple.

"What?"

Cali

I explained everything to Xander, well...everyone BUT the part where I kissed Laurent. I told him about the rebels shooting Laurent, Lavender finding us. Lavender asking me if I was a rebel because she just assumed that I was. Me getting angry and punching her. I was positive that when I told him I punched her he'd kick me out of the castle right then and there, but he only sighed. He took me in his arms and I relaxed at his touch, but Laurent's face was scrunched up, annoyed, obviously. I ignored him as Xander spoke.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he whispered and I nodded.

"It's fine," I said quietly and pushed him away.

"I think I'm going to go take a shower or something. I feel...I don't know, sick maybe?" I said with a weak smile, walking away from them.

But when I turned the corner, I heard them instantly start talking. Idiots. Don't they know that I'm not fully gone yet?

I decided to listen to them, only because they asked for it themselves.

"Don't you dare look at her again," I heard Xander's voice break out and I frowned. Why did he want Laurent looking at me.

"Like I'm going to listen to Mr. Perfect. I don't care what you say Xander, you should know that by now," Laurent snapped and I was a little surprised by the jerkiness of his voice. What was going on with him?

Xander growled, his growl deep and dooming. It scared me a little. He sounded like a werewolf. Though a werewolf would be a whole lot cooler.

"Laurent I swear," she said, "stay away from her or else. This isn't your Selection, it's mine."

"Oh shut up!" Laurent yelled and I jumped back in fear. He sounded so angry, and scary. "You have thirty four other stupid play toys! Why waste your time on one? I'm not going to let you ruin Cali, got it? I'm going to stay away from her, no matter what you say. You shouldn't care if I take one of them, you have a ton of others to go and marry."

Xander then said something I couldn't hear and I could hear him walk away.

I sighed, glad it was over, and was standing there for a while before I heard the other boy's footsteps.

I rubbed my forehead, but then listened to the footstpes a little more.

They were coming towards ME!

I scrambled around, hoping he wouldn't notice I was listening.

But I was too late. When Laurent turned the corner, I was there, and we were inches a part.

Dang it! I was caught.

Carla

Belle bit her fingernails as I tried to get in contact with some people. Lavender was nowhere to be seen and both of us were becoming nervous. Where was she? What was she doing? I growled as I hung up the phone. Nobody, nowhere, knew where she was.

I was about to give up and throw the phone across the library when the door opened and Lavender walked in, her face red and she looked terrible.

Both me and Belle screamed in happiness. I had never been more relieved. Our friend was okay. That was all that mattered.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Belle asked and I nodded. She didn't answer, she only sat down and groaned.

"Long story short. Rebels."

 **Here is a not-so-fancy chapter for ya'll. Sorry it's so bad, it's kind of late and I'm getting a little tired. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Questions:**

 **Do you think Laurent will realized Cali was listening?**

 **What do you think Xander will do about Calrent? (or at least Laurent?)**

 **THANKS FOR READING AGIAN! LOVE YA'LL!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Wow I haven't written in this story for a long time now. But I thought I'd give you all a treat, so here you go!**

Chapter 20

Cali

Laurent rounded a corner and saw me standing there. I wasn't sure what to do. I bit my lip, hoping he wouldn't think anything of it. But of course he did. Of course he did.

"Did you hear that?" He questioned. I quickly nodded, whispering, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he murmured, kissing my forehead and leaving. I froze. He was okay with it? He had just told his brother to back off of me, and his brother had just gotten angry at him. Why was Laurent acting so strange?

It was later that night that I snuck out of my bed and into the hallways. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a rebel anymore. I was loved here. Maybe I'd even become a princess, and never have to go back to being that Eight I was before ever again. But if I didn't win, and I did go back to being that Eight, then what would I do then? The rebels wouldn't want me, and neither would anyone else. I'd be back to my old life again. I think I had the most to lose here.

I walked down the hallways, unsure of what to do. Were the rebels going to see me if there were any of them still around. Would they be angry with me or something?

I heard voices coming from down the hall and I turned, only to see Lavender talking to Laurent. _What?_

"What do you want me to do about it? Cali hates me," Lavender said and Laurent gritted his teeth.

"I don't care if she hates you or not. I want you to spend more time with my brother," Laurent said and I frowned. _Why?_

"I don't understand," Lavender said and Laurent groaned.

"You _won't_ understand. You want this right?" Laurent questioned. Lavender shrugged, "Honestly, the only reason I signed up for this is because of my stupid mother. I don't want this. I never did."

"I know your lying Lavender, trust me, I'm not an idiot. I can read a lie from miles away," he said and I sat on the ground wrapping my arms around my legs and pulling them closer to me. It was cold in the dark of the night. There were no lights on and I was shivering.

"Alright, fine, then what's the plan again?" Lavender questioned.

"The plan, is for you to spend tons of time with my brother," Laurent said. Lavender frowned, "Why?"

"Because he likes Cali," Laurent said annoyed.

"I still don't understand," Lavender said, totally lost.

"He likes Cali. I like Cali. I don't want to have to fight my brother for her. I just want her to be mine, okay? So if my brother loses interest in her, then I can have her. Easy enough. Just make him lose interest in her, that's all I'm asking," Laurent said and I growled. Was Laurent purposely ruining my chances of winning. I don't care if he liked me, this was stupid!

I scurried to my feet heading back to my bedroom where I slipped into my bed. Hoping that the sleep would come quickly and I'd be ready for the morning in no time at all.

When the sun did shine through the windows in my bedroom, somebody was shaking me. I groaned and mumbled something jerky under my breath as I turned, ignoring them. They shook me harder.

I opened my eyes, they were crusted with tire. Laurent stood by my bed, his hand on my back shaking me.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" I asked him, slapping his hand away. He looked hurt, and then he grabbed my wrist, "Come on sweetheart, let's get your ready for the day."

"You aren't my maid, so get out," I said coldly. He ignored me and pulled me out of bed. I kicked at him.

"Cut it out Laurent!" I said. He picked me up and carried me bridal style towards the closet.

"What should Cali wear today?" He asked in a playful tone. I wasn't ready for playful. I was still sour from last night. And every night before that.

"Let go Laurent! Or I swear I'll bit your head off and tell Xander you were in my bedroom harassing me," I said slapping him. His face went blank when I said Xander's name. That was the way I could hurt Laurent, I realized. If I talked about Xander. I wondered that if I oozed about Xander being attractive, if Laurent would let me go.

"You know, I don't understand why you try. Xander's a lot better at being a prince and a charmer then you," I said with a jerky tone. Laurent's grip around my tightened, but somehow, it was still soft.

"Xander would let me go, because he's not a jerk," Laurent's face became sour.

"Xander's really sweet Laurent, unlike you-"

"Would you shut up?!" Laurent dropped me onto the ground and I hit the hard floor with a bang. My back started hurting instantly afterwards.

"Ow, what the heck was that?" I asked him and he glared at me.

"What was that? What's up with you talking about Xander like he's some superhero? What about me?" He asked and I scoffed, "Selfish much? Jeez Laurent, at least Xander's nice. At least he's not a jerk who drops me onto the floor. You're angry about this, but seriously? You _could_ be those things, you just decide not to."

"I'm a nice person!" He growled. I rolled my eyes, "I'll believe that when pigs fly."

"So what? You don't think I'm a nice person?" He asked.

"You _aren't_ a nice person. Remember when you first met me Laurent? You were a jerk!" I yelled at him. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He came over to me and kissed my cheek, then left my room. Why does he keep doing that?

 **I haven't updated this story in forever! I decided, because of Winter Break, that I'd update this story! Yay! Though I'm sure nobody's reading it anymore. But if you are reading it then yay! Good for you! And thank you! Sorry again! And here is a present from me to you! :D**

 **I haven't updated this sense August 23, 2015. Jeez! Yeah, sorry about that!**


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